In response to the cost-of-living crisis Independent Age are looking to provide 25 grants of £40,000 (£1million total) to charities and community organisations to get more money into the pockets of older people and help ensure they do not have to choose between buying food to eat and heating their home this winter. Projects must be in addition to or an extension of existing work – the grants cannot fund business-as-usual projects.
This fund will support projects like:
- Advice and information initiatives – such as helplines, drop-in sessions or community outreach work – that provide guidance to establish whether someone is entitled to relevant benefits
- Active support programmes that, through guidance to fill in forms and the like, help over 65s to claim benefits they are entitled to
- Budgeting advice and/or support to access better energy deals
- Debt advice, where an organisation is appropriately registered to give this
- Short-term help, such as access to grants to deal with one-off costs or emergencies or subsidised property maintenance, for older people already struggling financially
Eligibility
Grants are available to registered and exempt charities, CIOs and CICs, with annual turnovers exceeding £100,000, or partnerships/collaboratives where the lead body meets these criteria. Priority will be given to smaller organisations and those embedded in the communities we are particularly targeting for this fund.
The grants are not able to fund individuals directly, or provide funds for capital investment, such as building projects, through this programme.
Apply to the Cost-of-living Grants Fund
Deadline: Phase 1 application form opens on 1 September 2022 and closes 16 September 2022