Applying for Funding

Our foundation runs a number of grant programmes throughout the year for organisations supporting people over 65.

Working with our supporters, partners, employees and homeowners, we offer vital funding and resources to grassroots charities and community groups to help them build happy and vibrant communities across the country that support older people. We provide help in three key areas: community grants, project support, and volunteering and work across three key themes that drive our vision of a society where older people are valued, engaged and connected with their communities.

Community Grants - Autumn 2023 - (Closed)

Due to a backlog of organisations the foundation would like to support, our Autumn community grants will be a closed round open only to invited applicants and previous recipients of a McCarthy Stone Foundation grant. Successful applicants will be publicised on October 11th, 2023.

Our Community Awards will open again for applications in Spring 2024. Thank you.

Helping young people overcome educational challenges

Christmas Connections 2023 - APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

Our Christmas Connections programme is all about connecting older adults over the Christmas period. Grants of up to £1,000 will be available to support organisations running activities for people over 65 in their community over the festive period.

Funding will only be open to organisations with an annual income of LESS than £250,000.

Registered Charities, Community Groups and Community Interest Companies are eligible to apply.

Activities must take place between 1st December, 2023 and 2nd January, 2024.

APPLY HERE (CLICK HERE) and please select ‘Christmas Connections 2023’

Creating and enhancing community spaces

Small Community Grants - Invitation Only

Throughout the year our small community grants support older people to feel valued, engaged and connected by:

  • Providing grant funding and resources to community run spaces, like village halls or gardens
  • Ensure community spaces are accessible and able to be enjoyed by all ages
  • Promoting opportunities for generations to enjoy work and recreation together
  • Bringing together communities through volunteering
  • Partnering with community charities to develop sustainable community spaces

These grants of up to £1,000 are by invitation only at this time. However, we are always keen to meet and engage with new organisations so please use the contact page to get in touch.

Small Grants Programme

Core Cost Funding

The Foundation awards unrestricted core funding to grassroots charitable organisations, who have people over 65 at the heart of their work.

Unrestricted funding is only available to registered charities and community groups.

Organisations who can demonstrate a strong alignment with our charitable aims are invited to apply for unrestricted funding, currently up to £7500. If you are unsure whether you should apply for core cost funding, please get in touch for advice.

We know that many small organisations don’t have the resources for complex or extensive grant applications and monitoring, so we will do our best to work with you to make the process simple, transparent, and fair. We will also work with you to help report on the impact the grant will have. You can also find out more in our Grant Making Policy that covers the processes and criteria in greater depth.

Project Funding

We also invite applications for Project Funding. This funding is open to registered charities, community groups, and community interest companies limited by guarantee. This funding is to support a new, or existing, programme dedicated to supporting people over 65 within an organisation. It can also be used towards community green space or building projects, although it cannot be applied retrospectively.

We encourage all organisations submitting an application for project funding to do so on a cost-recovery basis. You can find out more in this article.

Please do get in touch for more information.

Get in touch