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

54 of 639 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 90 of 639 funders. 549 not yet verified are listed below; 36 that don't fit were excluded.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matthews Wrightson Charity Trust

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

The Matthews Wrightson Charity Trust advances social welfare by empowering smaller charities and individuals delivering direct benefits to disadvantag...

Grant Range
Contact funder

Milton Keynes Community Foundation Limited

Matching programme: Community Roots Project

Milton Keynes Community Foundation is an independent place-based funder with a mission to strengthen communities and improve quality of life by channe...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £15,000

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 ...

Grant Range
£400 - £1,500

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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £20,000

Ogilvie Charities

Matching programme: Specific Charitable Projects

Ogilvie Charities is a longstanding UK funder rooted in Suffolk and Essex, now supporting communities across England and Wales, with a mission to assi...

Grant Range
£250 - £2,000

Percy Bilton Charity

Matching programme: Large Grants

The Percy Bilton Charity is a grant-making trust rooted in a philanthropic mission to relieve hardship and enhance quality of life for the most disadv...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £5,000

Peter Kershaw Trust

Matching programme: Ordinary Grants

The Peter Kershaw Trust, established in 1974 by Peter Kershaw, then Chairman of Joseph Holt Brewery, is a grant-making charity dedicated to combating ...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

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, ...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £25,000

Philip and Connie Phillips Foundation

Matching programme: Grants

The Philip and Connie Phillips Foundation is an independent UK charitable incorporated organisation established in June 2020 from the wills of Kent re...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £10,000

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 ...

Grant Range
Up to £20,000

Robert McAlpine Foundation

Matching programme: Core Grant Programme

The Robert McAlpine Foundation, established in 1963 by the McAlpine family, drives positive social change by supporting small UK charities that enhanc...

Grant Range
£2,500 - £10,000

Roger & Douglas Turner Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Core funding

The Roger & Douglas Turner Charitable Trust embodies a family-founded vision of community wellbeing, prioritizing quality of life enhancements, opport...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Royal Warrant Holders' Charity

Matching programme: Royal Warrant Holders' Charity Grants

The Royal Warrant Holders' Charity, established in 1897 and governed by a deed last amended in 2024, empowers Royal Warrant Holding companies and thei...

Grant Range
Up to £3,000

Schroder Charity Trust

Matching programme: Schroder Charity Trust

Schroder Charity Trust is an independent UK grant-making family trust with a mission to empower disadvantaged children, young adults, and vulnerable c...

Grant Range
Up to £5,000

Simon Gibson Charitable Trust

Matching programme: Simon Gibson Charitable Trust Grant

The Simon Gibson Charitable Trust, established in 1975 by farmer and philanthropist Simon Gibson, embodies a founding mission to provide sustained, pr...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £20,000

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...

Grant Range
Up to £20,000

Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation

Matching programme: Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation Grant Programme

Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation champions the right to a safe home and financial independence for those facing hardship, with a mission...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £10,000

Sovereign Housing Association Limited

Matching programme: Thriving Communities Fund – Strengthening Place

Sovereign Network Group (SNG), evolved from Sovereign Housing Association, drives a mission to deliver affordable homes as the foundation for better l...

Grant Range
£300 - £7,500

Stafford Trust

Matching programme: Stafford Trust Grants

The Stafford Trust, an independent grant-making charitable trust established in 1991 in Scotland, supports UK-registered charities to promote welfare,...

Grant Range
£500 - £5,000

Summerfield Charitable Trust

Matching programme: General Grant Programme

Summerfield Charitable Trust advances community resilience, inclusion, creativity, environmental stewardship, and support for disadvantaged population...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £50,000

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...

Grant Range
£200 - £30,000

Whitehead Monckton Charitable Foundation

Matching programme: Whitehead Monckton Charitable Foundation Main Grant Programme

The Whitehead Monckton Charitable Foundation, established in 2010 by Whitehead Monckton Solicitors, is a Kent-focused grant-maker dedicated to support...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £2,500

Showing 50 of 54 matching funders

549 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
  • Eligibility checks
  • AI grant writer