Alder Hey Children's Charity

Alder Hey Children’s Charity, an independent registered charity established in 2015 alongside the redevelopment of Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, exists to transform paediatric healthcare by funding innovative projects beyond NHS core resources. Inspired by a vision of a world-class, child-friendly hospital, it places children and families at the heart of its work, guided by values of compassion, excellence, partnership, and child-centred innovation. The charity supports over 450,000 patient contacts annually, prioritising vulnerable children locally in the North West and nationally through advancements in clinical care, mental health, nutrition, bereavement support, trauma recovery, specialist equipment, research into childhood diseases, hospital facility enhancements, and creative therapies like play specialists, ward musicians, and hi-tech distraction tools to reduce pain and anxiety.

It funds capital projects (e.g., Surgical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, mental health inpatient units, bereavement centres), clinical enhancements, patient wellbeing programmes, and collaborative research, almost exclusively channelled to Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and its departments via internal, strategic partnerships rather than open competitions.

Unsolicited applications from external organisations are not accepted; eligibility is limited to hospital staff or teams from designated NHS partner hospitals for rare collaborative calls, such as the NIHR GOSH BRC Paediatric Excellence Initiative (next deadline: 8 September 2025). No income/size restrictions apply externally, but geographic focus is Liverpool, Merseyside, and North West, with national research relevance. Grants range from £250–£2,000 for small PPI/EDI requests to £25,000 for research or multi-millions for major capital projects; meetings are ad hoc, driven by hospital priorities.

Distinctive for its deep hospital integration, evidence-driven transformational impact, and storytelling via real patient narratives, it excludes core costs, unrestricted grants, or external charities, emphasising sustainable, added-value innovations in child health.