bp Helios Fund

The bp Helios Fund, originally established as the BP Benevolent Fund in 1990 and renamed in 2024, is a UK-registered charity dedicated to alleviating financial hardship among former employees of BP plc, its subsidiaries, or associated companies, and their dependants. Rooted in BP's legacy workforce responsibilities, its core mission focuses on preventing poverty, providing crisis relief for ill health, disability, or economic vulnerability, and delivering targeted welfare through one-off grants and occasional small repayable loans for urgent essentials like living expenses, medical costs, housing arrears, and mobility aids. Administered by BP-appointed trustees, it embodies a reactive, needs-based ethos exclusively for the BP alumni community, disbursing over £1 million annually in individual support.

It funds personal hardship relief for qualifying individuals—such as retired engineers facing health crises or widows of refinery workers struggling with bills—prioritizing those unable to meet basic needs despite pensions or benefits. Beneficiaries span older people and those with disabilities within the ex-BP family.

Eligibility is strictly limited to former BP employees/dependants UK-wide (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), verified by employment history; no organizations, charities, or general public qualify, and there are no income thresholds or size rules. Unsolicited applications are not accepted—eligible individuals or representatives must request a form from the administrator, submitting financial evidence and need documentation for rolling review, with decisions typically within weeks.

Typical grants range £2,000–£5,000 (up to higher for severe cases); it excludes projects, core organizational costs, education, capital builds, or external charities. This hyper-focused, corporate-tied model distinguishes it as a unique lifeline for BP's defined constituency, rejecting broad community or thematic funding.