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%
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Clear filtersFilters use programme details verified from each funder's own published guidance. Funders we haven't verified yet are listed separately below, never hidden.
Older People Funders
42 of 639 match your filtersChecked against verified programme data for 165 of 639 funders. 474 not yet verified are listed below; 123 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...
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...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Eric Wright Charitable Trust
Matching programme: Eric Wright Charitable Trust Grants (Lancaster)
The Eric Wright Charitable Trust embodies a founding vision of responsible business stewardship channeling construction industry profits into perpetua...
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...
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...
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 ...
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, ...
Housing Pathways Trust
Matching programme: Main Grants Programme
Housing Pathways Trust, a historic almshouse charity rooted in seventeenth-century principles, drives community transformation by enabling those in ne...
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...
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,...
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...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
Neighbourly Foundation
Matching programme: Neighbourly Foundation Grant Programme
Neighbourly Foundation, a UK-registered charity (1189514) established in March 2020 as the charitable arm of Neighbourly Limited, emerged in response ...
Northern Powergrid Foundation
Matching programme: Energy Resilience Grants Programme
Northern Powergrid Foundation champions energy resilience and social equity for communities ravaged by extreme weather, with a mission rooted in preve...
One Community Foundation Limited
Matching programme: Community Grants Programme
One Community Foundation Limited is an independent grantmaker founded to empower grassroots organizations and voluntary groups tackling social exclusi...
Peter Sowerby Foundation
Matching programme: Impact in Healthcare Fund (Strand 1)
The Peter Sowerby Foundation, established in 2011 by Dr Peter Sowerby—a rural North Yorkshire GP and co-founder of EMIS—with a substantial endowment, ...
Pilkington Charities Fund
Matching programme: Pilkington Charities’ Fund
Pilkington Charities Fund, established in 1950 by the Pilkington family—founders of the iconic St Helens glass manufacturing company—originally aimed ...
Queensberry House Trust
Matching programme: Regular Grant Programme
Queensberry House Trust is a Scottish charitable foundation established in 1996 from the sale of Queensberry House Hospital on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile,...
Sir James Knott Trust
Matching programme: Rolling Grants Programme
The Sir James Knott Trust, established in 1924 by Tyneside shipowner Sir James Knott following the loss of his sons in World War I, is a cornerstone p...
Sovereign Housing Association Limited
Matching programme: Thriving Communities Fund – Skills and Learning grant
Sovereign Network Group (SNG), evolved from Sovereign Housing Association, drives a mission to deliver affordable homes as the foundation for better l...
St Albans Old People's Trust
Matching programme: Grace Muriel Legacy Fund – Small Grants Programme
St Albans Old People's Trust is an independent grant-making charity dedicated to relieving need, hardship, and distress among older people aged 60 and...
St Giles-in-the-Fields and Bloomsbury United Charity
Matching programme: Alms Grants - Block Grant
St Giles-in-the-Fields and Bloomsbury United Charity embodies a centuries-old mission to relieve poverty, disadvantage, illness, isolation, and homele...
Stratford-Upon-Avon Town Trust
Matching programme: Small Community Grants
Stratford-upon-Avon Town Trust is an endowed grant-giving charity with roots in 13th-century medieval estates, reformed as an independent entity in th...
Summerfield Charitable Trust
Matching programme: General Grant Programme
Summerfield Charitable Trust advances community resilience, inclusion, creativity, environmental stewardship, and support for disadvantaged population...
Tendring Community Voluntary Services
Matching programme: Age Well and Be Well Grants
Tendring Community Voluntary Services (CVST), founded in 1973 and incorporated in 2005, serves as the longstanding umbrella charity for the voluntary ...
Torbay Community Development Trust Ltd
Matching programme: Smoking Cessation Community Grant
Torbay Communities, rooted in asset-based community development, empowers local voluntary, community, and social enterprise organizations to foster in...
Two Ridings Community Foundation
Matching programme: Small Grants Fund
Two Ridings Community Foundation, established in 2000 by former Chief Constable David Kenworthy, inspires local giving and channels philanthropic inve...
Walton on Thames Charity
Matching programme: Community Grants – Small Grants (up to £10,000)
Walton on Thames Charity, known as Walton Charity, is an ancient local foundation with over 800 years of history rooted in the parish of Walton-on-Tha...
Wimbledon Foundation
Matching programme: Get Set, Get Active Fund
The Wimbledon Foundation, established in 2013 as the official charity of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and The Championships, channels Wimbledon's ...
Wise Music Foundation
Matching programme: Wise Music Foundation Grants
Wise Music Foundation, originally established as The Music Sales Charitable Trust in 1990 by the Wise family of Wise Music Group, is a UK-based grantm...
474 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.
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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
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