Older People639+ Funders

Older People Grants & Funding

There are 639 UK funders offering grants for older people charities, with typical awards from £50 to £200,000.

With an ageing population, UK funders are increasingly investing in services that support older people to live well, stay connected, and maintain independence. Grants in this area cover a wide spectrum: befriending and social isolation reduction, dementia support, falls prevention, digital inclusion for older people, day centres, and care home activity programmes. Several dedicated trusts — such as the Dunhill Medical Trust and the Rayne Foundation — focus specifically on ageing. Larger general funders like the Big Lottery Fund and Henry Smith Charity also prioritise projects for older people. Community-based approaches are strongly favoured: lunch clubs, intergenerational projects, community transport, and age-friendly neighbourhood initiatives. The pandemic accelerated funder interest in tackling loneliness among older people, and this remains a key funding priority. Grant-makers value projects that treat older people as active participants rather than passive recipients, and organisations that involve older people in governance and service design score well in applications.

Quick Stats

Total Funders
639
Grant Range
£50 - £200,000
Open to Applications
60%

Older People Funders

92 of 639 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 122 of 639 funders. 517 not yet verified are listed below; 30 that don't fit were excluded.

Adnams Community Trust

Matching programme: Adnams Community Trust

The Adnams Community Trust, established in 1990 by Adnams PLC—a historic brewery based in Southwold, Suffolk—channels at least 1% of the company's ann...

Grant Range
£100 - £2,500

Alzheimer's Foundation for Research Into Alzheimer's Disease.

Matching programme: AFA Bi-Annual Grant

The Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA), founded in 2002, is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting individuals, families, and caregivers ...

Grant Range
£6,000 - £25,000

Ashley Family Foundation

Matching programme: Revenue Grants

The Ashley Family Foundation, established in 1986 by Sir Bernard and Laura Ashley, embodies a mission to harness creative enterprise for community ben...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Buckinghamshire Community Foundation

Matching programme: Health Equity Fund

Buckinghamshire Community Foundation, operating as Heart of Bucks, serves as a catalyst for social change by connecting philanthropy to local causes, ...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

C B and H H Taylor 1984 Trust

Matching programme: Birmingham & West Midlands County

The C B and H H Taylor 1984 Trust, a family-founded charitable trust rooted in Quaker heritage, pursues a mission to advance peacebuilding, social jus...

Grant Range
£500 - £2,000

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, UK Branch

Matching programme: Gulbenkian Exhibitions Fund

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch, established in 1956 from the bequest of Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, is a London-based arm ...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £600,000

Chalk Cliff Trust

Matching programme: Chalk Cliff Trust – Main Grant Programme

Chalk Cliff Trust is a family-led charitable foundation with a mission to advance grassroots charitable activity benefiting local communities through ...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £5,000

Charles S French Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Charles S French Charitable Trust Grant Programme

The Charles S French Charitable Trust, established in 1959 by Charles S French, former chairman of civil engineering firm W&C French, is a discretiona...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Chester Bluecoat Charity

Matching programme: Grants Programme

The Chester Bluecoat Charity is an historic grant-maker with roots over 800 years old, evolving through mergers since 1837 and rebranded in 2020 from ...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Cole Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Cole Charitable Trust grants

The Cole Charitable Trust is an independent grant-making trust dedicated to fostering positive change in local communities through support for small g...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £2,000

Community Foundation North East

Matching programme: General Application

Community Foundation North East, established in 1988 by local business and civic leaders in North East England, serves as the UK's largest community f...

Grant Range
Up to £25,000

County of Gloucestershire Community Foundation

Matching programme: GCF – Community Fund

Gloucestershire Community Foundation is a grant-making charity dedicated to reducing inequalities and enhancing quality of life for disadvantaged Glou...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

CPF Trust

Matching programme: Standard Grants

The CPF Trust is a grant-making charity committed to strengthening UK charities by providing flexible financial support for diverse charitable purpose...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £3,000

Croydon Relief in Need Charity

Matching programme: Large Grant (Over £5,000)

Croydon Relief in Need Charity (CRiN), rooted in ancient endowments consolidated under Croydon Almshouse Charities Trustee Company Limited, is a local...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £30,000

Dorset Community Foundation

Matching programme: EDC Project Fund for Strength & Sustainability

Dorset Community Foundation is an independent grantmaker dedicated to improving lives and fostering thriving, united communities across Dorset by chan...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust

Matching programme: Minor Medical and Health Sciences Grant

The Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust, established in 1951 via the will of Eleanor, Dowager Countess Peel, is a UK-based endowment charity rooted in...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £25,000

Drapers Charitable Fund

Matching programme: Drapers' Charitable Fund

The Drapers Charitable Fund, administered by the historic Worshipful Company of Drapers founded in 1364 by woollen cloth merchants, upholds a mission ...

Grant Range
Up to £25,000

Duchy Health Charity Limited

Matching programme: Grant Giving Programme

Duchy Health Charity Limited, established in 1976 from the proceeds of Cornwall's first private hospital sale, is a Cornwall-based grantmaker dedicate...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £30,000

Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust

The Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust is a family-led foundation embodying stewardship, heritage responsibility, and community flourishing through...

Grant Range
£250 - £10,000

E H Smith Charitable Trust

Matching programme: General Charitable Grants

The E H Smith Charitable Trust, family-founded in 1944, embodies community responsibility by reinvesting business profits to uplift local communities ...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

East End Community Foundation

Matching programme: Canary Wharf Group Community Grant Programme

East End Community Foundation is an independent grantmaker dedicated to tackling entrenched poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in East London's...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

Edgar E Lawley Foundation

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The Edgar E Lawley Foundation, established in 1961, drives a philanthropic mission to advance social welfare and alleviate disadvantage through flexib...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £2,000

Eric Wright Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Eric Wright Charitable Trust Grants 2025/26

The Eric Wright Charitable Trust embodies a founding vision of responsible business stewardship channeling construction industry profits into perpetua...

Grant Range
£500 - £24,000

Essex Community Foundation

Matching programme: East of England Co-op Community Cares Fund

Essex Community Foundation, established in 1996, is an independent charitable foundation dedicated to enhancing quality of life for Essex residents by...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £7,000

Eveson Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Enhance Grants programme

The Eveson Trust, formerly the Eveson Charitable Trust and converted to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in April 2022, was established under th...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £50,000

February Foundation

Matching programme: The February Foundation Main Grant Programme

The February Foundation, an independent UK grant-making charity established in 2006, supports registered charities to deliver practical social impact ...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Friends of the Elderly

Matching programme: Grants for Older People

Friends of the Elderly is a longstanding UK charity dedicated to supporting older people facing loneliness, isolation, poverty, and age-based disadvan...

Grant Range
Up to £500

G C Gibson Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Annual Grant Round

The GC Gibson Charitable Trust is a family-stewarded philanthropic fund with a mission to deliver sustained, meaningful support to small and medium-si...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Gatwick Airport Community Trust

Matching programme: Gatwick Airport Community Trust Grant Fund

Gatwick Airport Community Trust is an independent grant-making charity established in 2002 through a legally binding agreement between Gatwick Airport...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Geoffrey Watling Charity

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The Geoffrey Watling Charity embodies entrepreneurial generosity, local pride, and civic friendship, channeling resources to vitalize communities thro...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £30,000

Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Main Grant Programme

The Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust, established in 1988 by the will of G.H. Micklem C.B.E., is a grant-making trust dedicated to advancing public ben...

Grant Range
£8,000 - £15,000

Green Hall Foundation

Matching programme: May Round

The Green Hall Foundation, established in 1976 by Yorkshire philanthropist Constance Vera Green and renamed in 2013 to honor Colonel Henry Robert Hall...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Grocers' Charity

Matching programme: Open Grants

The Grocers' Charity, the philanthropic arm of London's ancient Worshipful Company of Grocers rooted in the 14th-century Guild of Pepperers, advances ...

Grant Range
Up to £5,000

H&F Giving

Matching programme: Earls Court Community Fund

H&F Giving is a place-based charitable funder established in 2018 through the merger of Hammersmith United Charities and Dr Edwards and Bishop King’s ...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

Hadfield Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Hadfield Trust Grants

The Hadfield Charitable Trust is a grant-making charity rooted in community stewardship and local impact, dedicated to addressing social needs by empo...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Hadrian Trust

Matching programme: Hadrian Trust Main Grants

Hadrian Trust, an independent charitable grant-maker founded in 1972, focuses on improving lives in England's North East, specifically Tyne and Wear, ...

Grant Range
£500 - £2,000

Housing Pathways Trust

Matching programme: Francis Courtney Educational Fund

Housing Pathways Trust, a historic almshouse charity rooted in seventeenth-century principles, drives community transformation by enabling those in ne...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Independent Age

Matching programme: Boosting Advice Grant Fund 2026

Independent Age, a UK charity founded over 150 years ago, is dedicated to eliminating financial hardship for older people, envisioning a society where...

Grant Range
£75,000 - £150,000

Innholders' Charitable Foundation

Matching programme: Charity Committee Grant Programme

The Innholders' Charitable Foundation, established in 2014 as the charitable arm of the Worshipful Company of Innholders—a City of London Livery Compa...

Grant Range
£500 - £5,000

Isle of Wight Foundation

Matching programme: Isle of Wight Foundation Grant

The Isle of Wight Foundation, established in 2014 by a consortium of private sector companies including Island Roads, Meridiam, and Vinci Concessions,...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £16,000

James Knott Family Foundation

Matching programme: Main Grants Programme

The James Knott Family Foundation, known as the Sir James Knott Trust, was established in 1924 by Tyneside shipowner Sir James Knott to honor his sons...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Jane Hodge Foundation

Matching programme: General Grants

The Jane Hodge Foundation, established in 1962 by Welsh entrepreneur Sir Julian Hodge in memory of his mother Jane, is a family-governed grantmaker fu...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £20,000

John Moores Foundation

Matching programme: Grants for Merseyside

The John Moores Foundation, established in Liverpool in 1964 by philanthropist Sir John Moores, is a family-founded independent grant-maker dedicated ...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Lake House Charitable Foundation

Matching programme: Lake House Charitable Foundation grants

The Lake House Charitable Foundation, an independent UK grant-making charity established in 2008, is dedicated to alleviating severe disadvantages fac...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

Len Pick Trust

Matching programme: Grant Under £1,000

The Len Pick Trust is a community-rooted grantmaker inspired by the philanthropic legacy of local farmer and benefactor Len Pick, dedicated to deliver...

Grant Range
£500 - £15,000

Lincolnshire Community Foundation CIO

Matching programme: Michael Cornish Core Grants Programme

Lincolnshire Community Foundation CIO, established in 2002, is an independent charity dedicated to tackling social inequalities and fostering thriving...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

London Borough of Hounslow

Matching programme: Revenue Fund

London Borough of Hounslow drives its Thriving Communities Fund through a mission to reduce inequality, build community resilience, and empower civil ...

Grant Range
£250 - £100,000

London Community Foundation

Matching programme: Lambeth Wellbeing Fund

London Community Foundation champions a fairer London by investing in small, local charities and grassroots groups tackling deep inequalities, wealth ...

Grant Range
£500 - £25,000

London Freemasons Charity

Matching programme: Standard Grants Programme

The London Freemasons Charity (LFC), established in 2000 as the London Masonic Charitable Trust and run by trustees from the Metropolitan Grand Lodge ...

Grant Range
£3,000 - £10,000

Marsh Christian Trust

Matching programme: Grants Programme

The Marsh Charitable Trust (formerly Marsh Christian Trust), established in 1981 by Brian Marsh OBE, is a UK-based funder dedicated to sustaining smal...

Grant Range
£300 - £2,000

Showing 50 of 92 matching funders

517 funders not yet verified against these filters

We haven't confirmed these funders' programme details yet, so they may or may not fit. Showing the first 10.

Tips for Applying to Older People Funders

Demonstrate co-design with older people in your application, showing how they have shaped your project from the outset rather than being consulted after decisions are made. Funders increasingly expect older people to hold meaningful roles in governance, delivery, and evaluation. If your project addresses loneliness or social isolation, use validated measurement tools such as the UCLA Loneliness Scale or the De Jong Gierveld Scale to establish baselines and track outcomes — subjective wellbeing measures are valued alongside activity attendance figures. Address digital inclusion as a component of your work, explaining how you help older people access technology confidently while ensuring your project remains accessible to those who are not digitally connected. Describe any intergenerational programming that brings older and younger people together with genuine mutual benefit rather than tokenistic contact. If your project serves people with dementia, explain your dementia-friendly approach including environmental design, communication methods, and staff training. Show an understanding of the diversity within the older population — avoid treating over-65s as a homogeneous group, and explain how your project reaches those most at risk of isolation including older men, people from ethnic minority communities, LGBTQ+ older people, and those in rural areas. Strong applications balance practical support with respect for autonomy and choice.

Frequently Asked Questions about Older People Grants

What grants are available for older people charities in the UK?

There are 639+ UK funders offering grants for older people charities. These range from small community grants under £5,000 to large multi-year funding programmes exceeding £100,000. Use Fundermatcher to find the best match for your organisation.

How much funding can older people organisations get?

Grant amounts for older people charities vary widely depending on the funder and project. Typical grants range from £1,000 to over £100,000. Many funders offer multi-year funding for established organisations with a strong track record.

How do I apply for older people grants?

Start by identifying funders whose priorities align with your older people work. Fundermatcher matches your charity's profile against 639+ funders to find the best fit. Our AI assistant can then help you draft compelling grant applications.

How to Find the Right Older People Funders

1

Describe Your Charity

Tell us what your charity does, who you help, and where you work. Takes 30 seconds.

2

Get Matched Instantly

Our AI ranks all 639 older people funders by how well they fit your specific work.

3

Write Winning Applications

Our AI assistant helps you draft and refine grant applications tailored to each funder.

Which of These 639 Funders Are Right for You?

Browsing 639 funders manually takes hours. Describe your charity once and get your top matches ranked by compatibility — in seconds.

  • Personalised match scores
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  • AI grant writer