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
70 of 639 match your filtersChecked against verified programme data for 117 of 639 funders. 522 not yet verified are listed below; 47 that don't fit were excluded.
Addington Fund
Verified openMatching programme: Emergency Relief (Forage Aid)
The Addington Fund is an independent UK charity established in 2001 in response to the classical swine fever and foot-and-mouth outbreaks, dedicated t...
Anchor Society CIO
Verified openMatching programme: Emergency Grants for Individuals
Anchor Society CIO, established in 1769 as a voluntary association inspired by Edward Colston's philanthropy, is a historic Bristol-based charity dedi...
Ballinger Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Project / Capital Grant
The Ballinger Charitable Trust, founded in 1994 by the Ballinger family with deep personal ties to North East England, supports UK-registered charitie...
Baron Davenport's Charity
Verified openMatching programme: Emergency Grants
Baron Davenport's Charity, an endowed trust established in 1914 by the will of Baron Charles Davenport in Birmingham, is dedicated to alleviating acut...
Bernard Sunley Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Bernard Sunley Foundation Grants
The Bernard Sunley Foundation, established in 1960 by property developer Bernard Sunley and endowed with £300,000 in shares, is an independent family-...
Bolton Guild of Help
Verified openMatching programme: Grants for Emergency and Essential Household Items
Bolton Guild of Help, established in 1905, is a longstanding charitable organization dedicated to relieving hardship and distress among vulnerable res...
Brace
Verified openMatching programme: BRACE Research Grants
BRACE Alzheimer’s Research, founded in 1987 in Bristol by families affected by dementia, is an independent charity dedicated to defeating dementia thr...
BT Benevolent Fund
Verified openMatching programme: BT Benevolent Fund (single programme for individuals)
The BT Benevolent Fund is an independent charity with a foundational mission to relieve acute financial distress and poverty among past and present BT...
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust Charitable Fund
Verified openMatching programme: Charitable Funding (Trust Colleagues)
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust Charitable Fund drives the Trust's strategic aims by funding enhancements beyond statutory NHS provision, elevati...
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, UK Branch
Verified openMatching programme: Project Grants (Armenian Communities Department)
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK Branch, established in 1956 from the bequest of Armenian oil magnate Calouste Gulbenkian, is a London-based arm ...
Chalk Cliff Trust
Verified openMatching 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 ...
Clan Trust Limited
Verified openMatching programme: Clan Trust Grant
Clan Trust Limited is an independent charitable trust based in Norfolk, established in the 1960s by a local farmer who endowed it with his farm, land,...
Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation
Verified openMatching programme: Education grants
The Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO), established in 1920 with charitable status since 1995, is the UK's sole national charity dedica...
Cole Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching 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...
Combined Harpole Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: CHCT Education Grant
The Combined Harpole Charitable Trust is a community-rooted funder with a historic mission to relieve poverty and advance education among Harpole pari...
Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon
Verified openMatching programme: Community Grants
Wiltshire and Swindon Community Foundation, founded in 1975 as an independent charity (formerly Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon), tackles...
Community Foundation North East
Verified openMatching 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...
Connolly Foundation (UK) Limited
Verified openMatching programme: Old people
The Connolly Foundation (UK) Limited, established in 2004 as the Kathleen and Michael Connolly Foundation and renamed in 2020, is a Bedfordshire-based...
Cornwall Community Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Small Grants (under £5,000)
Cornwall Community Foundation, established in 2003 as a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, is the sole community foundation serving ...
Dowager Countess Eleanor Peel Trust
Verified openMatching programme: General 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...
Duke of Devonshire's Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching 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...
E H Smith Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching 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 ...
Eveson Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
The Eveson Trust, formerly the Eveson Charitable Trust and converted to a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in April 2022, was established under th...
Exeter Chiefs Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Project Grant
The Exeter Chiefs Foundation, established in 2011 by Exeter Rugby Club executives and local business leaders including Chairman Tony Rowe CBE, is an i...
Gay and Peter Hartley's Hillards Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Main Grants Programme
Gay and Peter Hartley's Hillards Charitable Trust is a grant-making charity founded by the Hartley family, rooted in the legacy of the Hillards grocer...
Geoffrey Watling Charity
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
The Geoffrey Watling Charity embodies entrepreneurial generosity, local pride, and civic friendship, channeling resources to vitalize communities thro...
Gerald Micklem Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching 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...
Guildford Lions Club (CIO)
Verified openMatching programme: Community Grant Making
Guildford Lions Club (CIO), established in 1967 as a volunteer-driven branch of Lions Clubs International, is a Guildford-based charity dedicated to m...
Hadfield Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching 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...
Harold and Alice Bridges Charity
Verified openMatching programme: Harold and Alice Bridges Charity Grant Programme
The Harold and Alice Bridges Charity embodies a mission to bolster community wellbeing by fortifying essential physical infrastructure that sustains v...
Harry Bottom Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Main grants programme
The Harry Bottom Charitable Trust, founded by Harry Bottom on 7 October 1960, is a longstanding Sheffield-based grant-maker governed by its original t...
Hemby Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Hemby Charitable Trust Grants
The Hemby Charitable Trust, established in 1998 by a local family with deep roots in Merseyside and Wirral, is a small, trustee-led grantmaker adminis...
Hobson Charity Limited
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
Hobson Charity Limited, established in 1985 by the Hobson family with Lady Hobson OBE as long-serving Chair, is a family-governed grant-maker dedicate...
Housing Pathways Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Resident Welfare Fund
Housing Pathways Trust, a historic almshouse charity rooted in seventeenth-century principles, drives community transformation by enabling those in ne...
Innholders' Charitable Foundation
Verified openMatching 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...
James Beattie Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
The James Beattie Charitable Trust, established in 1972, upholds a mission to relieve need and advance opportunities for Wolverhampton residents throu...
James Knott Family Foundation
Verified openMatching 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...
Jones 1986 Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: The Jones 1986 Charitable Trust
The Jones 1986 Charitable Trust advances community care and prevention of disadvantage for socially and medically vulnerable populations, prioritizing...
Joseph Rank Trust
Verified openMatching programme: General Fund
The Joseph Rank Trust is an independent Christian grant-maker established in 2002 from charities founded by Joseph Rank (1854–1943) and family between...
Liverpool Merchants' Guild
Verified openMatching programme: Liverpool Merchants' Guild Support
Liverpool Merchants' Guild upholds a historic mission of relieving poverty, hardship, and distress among older people through targeted financial suppo...
Liversage Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Household Fund
The Liversage Trust, a historic almshouse charity founded in 1529 in Derby, England, under the will of Robert Liversage, remains dedicated to relievin...
Livewell Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Small Grants
The Livewell Foundation, established as the charitable arm of a pioneering social enterprise in health and social care, drives transformational impact...
London Freemasons Charity
Verified openMatching 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 ...
London Marathon Charitable Trust Limited
Verified openMatching programme: Active Spaces Fund
London Marathon Charitable Trust Limited, operating as the London Marathon Foundation and founded in 1981 by marathon co-founders, champions the life-...
Mansfield Building Society Charitable Trust
Verified openMatching programme: Community Support Scheme
The Mansfield Building Society Charitable Trust, established in 2015 with an initial gift from Mansfield Building Society, is a community-rooted funde...
Marsh Christian Trust
Verified openMatching 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...
Matthews Wrightson Charity Trust
Verified openMatching programme: General Grant Programme
The Matthews Wrightson Charity Trust advances social welfare by empowering smaller charities and individuals delivering direct benefits to disadvantag...
Medicash Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Medicash Foundation Grant Programme
The Medicash Foundation advances health and saves lives by funding treatment, nursing, and care for sick, infirm individuals suffering diseases, ailme...
Mercers Charitable Foundation
Verified openMatching programme: Older People & Housing
The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, established in 1983 as the principal grant-making trust of The Mercers’ Company—London’s premier livery company fo...
Milton Keynes Community Foundation Limited
Verified openMatching 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...
Showing 50 of 70 matching funders
522 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
Describe Your Charity
Tell us what your charity does, who you help, and where you work. Takes 30 seconds.
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Our AI ranks all 639 older people funders by how well they fit your specific work.
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.
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