Grants Programme

Friends of the Elderly’s grants programme is designed to assist older individuals facing financial difficulties. Our aim is to provide support to older people who are struggling to make ends meet, and to ensure they are able to live with dignity and in comfort.

Grants can be used to cover essential expenses such as purchasing a new fridge, paying unexpected bills, food, clothing, or covering gas and electricity costs. The application process is managed through organisations who register with Friends of the Elderly and work with older people in their local communities. These organisations are known as Referral Agents, they might be community centres, religious centres, carers centres, housing associations, advice organisations like Citizen’s Advice or other charities like Age UK.

Referral Agents will write and submit the application on the older person’s behalf, ensuring they understand their situation, the support required and assessing any evidence..

If you or someone you know would benefit from a Friends of the Elderly grant please see our ‘Finding a Referral Agent’ help sheet which will help you take the first steps to identify a Referral Agent who can submit the application. We can also post information to you, please call 0330 332 1110.

We are always accepting new referral agents, so if you know of an organisation working with older people who might want to become a referrer, please ask them to go to our website www.fote.org.uk/grants or contact us at hello@fote.org.uk

PLEASE NOTE

We are receiving a very high number of applications at present.

Therefore it’s taking our small team longer than usual to process them.

The current waiting time is between six and eight weeks.

Please be assured that we are doing our very best to work through our applications as quickly as we can.

Thank you for your patience.

How a Friends of the Elderly Grant supported…

James, 67, lives in London in supported housing with centralised washing facilities. Following a stroke, deterioration in his mobility has made accessing these facilities very difficult.

“I had a lot of problems…One day I had a hospital appointment and I needed to wear clean clothes – but they were all dirty. That, I think, was the day that I really felt really bad. I thought, ‘give me some strength’. I felt helpless. I had to go to the hospital in clothes that were dirty.”

James raised the issue with a support worker from the Stroke Association, who said that they could get help. There was space for a washing machine in James’s flat, so they applied to Friends of the Elderly who gave James a grant for a new washing machine.

Read how our grants transformed James’ life.

We have changed our evidence and monitoring requirements!

As of 1st December ALL REFERRAL AGENTS MUST read and follow the new guidance notes and application procedures.

We have MADE THE PROCESS EASIER for you.

If you are applying via email, please ensure you use the new version of the application form – email us hello@fote.org.uk for a copy of the new form.

We are currently open for both online and emailed applications.

Applications MUST be made by a professional on behalf of an older person in need. We do not accept applications from individual members of the public.

If you are an older person needing help, please see below for Information for Older People needing a grant and help with Finding A Referral Agent.

Grants – essential information

If you want to find out more about our grants process, check through frequently asked questions, and how to find a referral agent if you don’t already have one, this is the where to get started.

Who are our grants for?

Friends of the Elderly provides small grants (normally up to £400) to older people who meet all of the following criteria::

Resident in England and Wales
Of/over state pension age
Who are living on low incomes and with little savings
Who do not fit the criteria for other funders

How can you apply?

A Referral Agent/Professional must make a grant application on an older person’s behalf, we do not accept applications from individual members of the public.

1. Referral Agents can register and apply online here:

GRANTS APPLICATION LOGIN

This is the quickest way, but is not recommended if you have an unstable internet connection.
2. Referral Agents can contact us at hello@fote.org.uk with the subject heading APPLICATION FORM REQUEST and we will email you an application form.

PLEASE ENSURE YOU READ OUR GUIDANCE NOTES ABOVE, BOTH BEFORE AND DURING COMPLETING YOUR ONLINE APPLICATION.

Priority for Essential Items

We are prioritising requests for essential items and have modified our processes to ensure we can still make grants even though older people might not be able to meet with their Referral Agent face to face due to the current Covid-19 Pandemic and social distancing measures.

If you need to speak to us prior to applying please email our team at hello@fote.org.uk for the quickest response.

If necessary, you can leave us a message on 0330 332 1110 and a member of the team will you call back within 5 working days.