Independent Age: Grants Fund

Archived Advice services Age Age discrimination Aged 60+ Community and neighbourhood development Community development COVID-19/Coronavirus Health promotion Health, wellbeing and sport Human rights and equality Information Technology Miscellaneous People with disabilities Poverty and deprivation Social inclusion Social welfare and poverty Sport and physical recreation Antrim & Newtownabbey Ards & North Down Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Belfast City Causeway Coast and Glens Derry City and Strabane England Fermanagh and Omagh Great Britain Lisburn and Castlereagh Mid and East Antrim Mid Ulster Newry, Mourne and Down Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Medium (up to £60,000) Micro (up to £1,000) Small (up to £10,000)

Track grant Notes

Overview

Before coronavirus struck the nation, Independent Age was exploring how to strengthen collaboration with older people and local organisations with the aim of shaping a more active role in supporting communities. But right now, their focus must be directed towards the current crisis.

In response, their trustees have decided to release £2 million from Independent Age’s own funds to help smaller organisations across the UK who are working with some of the older people hardest hit by COVID-19.

Their Grants Fund will comprise of four separate funding rounds. In each round in June, July, August and September 2020, they will make £500,000 available where organisations can apply to receive up to £15,000 each. They hope to be able to make up to 200 grants from the Fund over this period.

They hope very much that with the generosity of partners in independent foundations and business, they can build the Independent Age Grants Fund up to £5 million, so they can learn more about the needs and priorities of smaller organisations across the UK and offer more funding to support this vital work later in the year and into 2021. None of this money will go to Independent Age – it will all be distributed to smaller organisations working with older people on the ground.

Funding Priorities

Sadly, they will not be able to help every organisation that is struggling to meet increasing needs in their communities. They have decided to begin by supporting work with two groups of older people, who can too easily miss out:

1) Older people living in particularly complex and challenging situations

They want to help organisations providing targeted, practical services for older people who are managing additional difficulties in their lives. They may have no network of family, friends or community to call on; have a disability or long-term health condition; be caring for a dependant adult with learning disabilities or dementia or be facing other circumstances that make it harder to manage at this challenging time. They want to help make sure that they can get the support they need to stay safe, healthy and connected with others during the difficult months ahead.

2) Older people in danger of being out of sight and out of mind

They want to help organisations connecting with older people who are very isolated and most at risk of missing out on the help available from government or charities (like their own) that serve a very wide client group. They may be part of an isolated, neglected or very poor community, be facing stigma or discrimination or have needs which make it hard for them to access services, perhaps because they are homeless, live with HIV or are hidden from view in an abusive relationship. They want to help make sure that the needs of these groups of older people are understood and met.

Who can apply?

Your organisation must be registered as a charity with The Charity Commission for England and Wales, The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, or The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
You must have at least one paid member of staff (part-time is fine) and an annual income of £1 million or less (averaged across the last three financial years).
You must be already working with older people in one or both of their two priority areas – older people living in particularly complex and challenging situations and older people in danger of being out of sight and out of mind.
And you must know what you want to do – or do better – to help make an immediate difference to their lives over the next six months.
Organisations that do not specialise in work with older people are welcome to apply – but you must already be providing services for older people as part of your work and to be able to tell them what you have achieved.

How much money can you ask for and for how long?

They can make grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 for up to six months.

Please only ask for what you really need so that the money can be shared by as many organisations as possible across their sector.

What kind of work will they support?

They will support any kind of work that you believe will make a real and immediate difference to older people living in particularly complex and challenging situations or older people in danger of being out of sight and out of mind.

You know your communities and the older people that need help – they trust your judgement about what the priorities are and where money is best spent. And they understand that you may need to change your plans as the situation develops over the next months.