Along with four new multi-year partners, the Foundation has now completed it’s Spring Grants Programme, disbursing over £170,000 in funding to a range of charities across England, Wales and Scotland.

You can read about our new multi-year partners HERE, but we have also included below the additional 22 grant recipients that we are pleased to have selected. As usual, most of these charities have an income under £100,000 a year, with none of them having an income of more than £240,000. They all work in the 30% most deprived local areas for income affecting older people, with most working in the top 10%.

Erdington Abbey, Warm Welcome, Birmingham – £1,820: Supporting the weekly ‘Warm Welcome’ run by volunteers in the church and held for up to 70 older people in a deprived area North-East of Birmingham City Centre.

The Opening Doors Project, Liverpool – £3,750: Core funding to continue the weekly activity sessions for 40-50 older people in a highly deprived part of Merseyside.

Sahara Coventry – £4,000: A charity we are pleased to have worked with before from the Foleshill Ward in Coventry, providing a range of services to older people, particularly from the BAME community. This core funding will help meet the salary costs of the charity’s Befriending Coordinator.

Somerford ARC Community Centre, Christchurch – £4,110: 12 months core support for the ADaPt Cafe, supporting people living in the local area with Dementia, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and their carers in an area with a very high population of people over 85 and a high prevalence of Dementia.

Cressingham Gardens Residents Management, London – £4,200: Funding to set up and run a new coffee morning on a council estate of 300 homes in Lambeth. Funding will enable the hiring of some paid support to get and keep the weekly session running to support the many older people on the estate.

Friends of Rhyddings Park, Oswaldthistle – £4,500: Funds will support 12 months of activities (arts, crafts, exercise, mental health support and more) for people over 65 in this community located between Accrington and Oswaldthistle, to the East of Blackburn.

Community Lives Matter, Ormskirk – £5,000: Supporting this community charity in West Lancashire to continue its Luncheon Club and Dementia Cafe that support a total of more than 100 older people each week.

291 Community Association, West Bromwich – £5,000: Working in the highly deprived area of Sandwell in the Midlands, our funds will support the charity’s core costs, enabling it to continue running a range of activities for older people in the community.

Ormlie Community Association, Thurso, Scotland – £5,200: Core funding to support this group on the Ormlie Estate continue to run a range of activities to help local older people, including intergenerational sessions that help build stronger community links.

Alive & Kicking, Glasgow – £6,000: Core cost funding for this charity based in the highly deprived location of Springburn in Glasgow, providing direct support to local older people, with over 137 members from Springburn and surrounding areas.

Bedford Street Community Company, West Rhyl, Wales – £6,259: Working in the most deprived wards in Wales, this charity provides a wide range of services to local older people. Funding will enable the extension of the subsidised weekly lunch club to add another weekly session.

Linking Lives UK, Plymouth – £6,783: Funding will support a new service in Plymouth, beginning with group-based activities before developing into an ongoing befriending service.

Chats Palace, Hackney, London – £7,000: Our funding will meet the costs of the ‘Palace Club’ for 12 months, supporting over 100 local people over 65 with weekly sessions designed to tackle loneliness and improve fitness and mobility.

Cornelly Development Trust, Bridgend, Wales – £7,176: Funding to cover the provision of two new weekly activity sessions specifically aimed at local people over 65 to run alongside existing intergenerational sessions.

The Orrell Trust, Bootle – £7,416: Our grant will cover the running costs of the weekly Wednesday Club for 12 months, providing valuable opportunities for social connection to local people over 65 who are socially isolated.

Memories Are Golden, Haverhill, Suffolk – £7,500: Based in rural Suffolk, this group aims to prevent social isolation for people living with dementia and their carers. Our grant funding will support their core costs, which have substantially increased since being forced to move into a new facility.

Food Friends UK, Ashford, Kent – £7,500: A core costs grant to help this relatively new charity continue it’s success to date connecting volunteers who are looking to share extra portions of home-cooked food with their neighbours, helping connect people and alleviate isolation in local older people.

Action on Dementia, Sunderland – £7,500: This small charity runs a range of services for people in central Sunderland living with dementia, including a weekly lunch club and 1-1 befriending. Our funding will cover costs of the charity’s outreach workers, an essential part of the befriending service.

Bentilee Volunteers, Stoke-on-Trent – £7,500: This community led charity runs a range of services, including a longstanding lunch club for local older residents, with an average age of 75. Funding will support the costs of the staff over the coming 12 months, who ensure people are able to attend the club and to have healthy, tasty hot food.

Forum 50+, Telford and Wrekin – £7,500: Our funding will help this busy local charity to support and increase their existing befriending service, helping to alleviate loneliness and isolation for older people in the community.

Lewisham Churches Care, London – £7,500: Core costs funding to this long-established local London charity, working to help older people to maintain independence and to reduce isolation. Funding will support the charity’s work, reaching more than 300 local older people.

Unite Carers in Mid-Devon, Devon – £7,500: Another core cost funding grant that will help the charity continue to deliver support services to unpaid carers, providing both 1-1 and group support to people often unable to access statutory services who are isolated and desperate for some respite.

A big thanks to the Trustees and other volunteers who, along with our Foundation team, form our Grant Assessment Sub-Committee. Thanks also to everyone who submitted an application to this current round of funding. There were some truly inspiring stories and we are always mindful of how acute the need is currently for small charities supporting people in later life.

We are looking forward to working with our successful applicants in the coming months and to sharing more of their work with our supporters, whose kindness and generosity make this all possible.

Thank you.