Aims/priorities: This fund aims to support advice-focused organisations to improve the quality of, and access to, advice for older people facing financial hardship and achieve outcomes against the following themes:
- Income – Older people facing financial hardship will have sufficient income and receive the financial support they are entitled to, such as Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, or Carers Allowance.
- Costs – Older People facing financial hardship are protected from unfair or unavoidable costs. This can include working around bill reduction, supporting older people with housing repairs, dealing with rent increases, and supporting older people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Who can apply? The following can apply:
- Registered charities.
- Registered charities that are companies limited by guarantee.
- Registered charities that are community benefit societies.
- Charitable incorporated organisations.
Applicants should:
- Have an established track record of providing quality service.
- Be able to demonstrate an existing reach, or a plan to increase reach to older people facing financial hardship and improve access to advice.
- Ensure that a core element of their application and approach to supporting older people includes face-to-face work.
- Have a governing body with at least three unrelated members.
- Have an organisational bank account with at least two unrelated signatories.
- Have an annual income of between £125,000 and £5 million.
- Have been operating for at least three tears with at least two sets of accounts.
- Have adult safeguarding policies and procedures in place.
- Have an equity diversity and inclusion policy in place.
Priority will be given to the following groups of people aged over 65 who are at greater risk of facing financial hardship, including:
- Single people.
- Women.
- People from minoritised ethnic communities.
- Private/social renters.
- Carers.
- People with long-term conditions or disabilities.
Grant amount: A total of £1.8 million is available.
Three-year grants of between £90,000 (£30,000 per year) and £150,000 (£50,000 per year) are available.
Application process: There is a two-stage application process:
- Groups must first submit an expression of interest.
- Successful applicants will then be invited by mid-March to submit a full application. The deadline to submit a full application is 9 April 2025.
Guidance notes and an online EOI form are available from the Independent Age website.
Deadline: Wednesday 26 February 2025 14.00
Contact information: Email: grants@independentage.org