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

47 of 639 match your filters

Checked against verified programme data for 178 of 639 funders. 461 not yet verified are listed below; 131 that don't fit were excluded.

ABF The Soldiers' Charity

Matching programme: Charitable Grants to Organisations

ABF The Soldiers' Charity, also known as the Army Benevolent Fund, is the British Army's national charity established in 1944 during World War II to p...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £25,000

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

Anchor Society CIO

Matching programme: Organisational Grants

Anchor Society CIO, established in 1769 as a voluntary association inspired by Edward Colston's philanthropy, is a historic Bristol-based charity dedi...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Baron Davenport's Charity

Matching programme: Organisation 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...

Grant Range
£200 - £1,000

Buckinghamshire Community Foundation

Matching programme: Heart of Bucks Community 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

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

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

Connolly Foundation (UK) Limited

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £50,000

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

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: BCP Crisis and Resilience Fund

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

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

East End Community Foundation

Matching programme: London Dock Community Fund - Summer 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

Eleemosynary Charity of William Hobbayne

Matching programme: Grants for Organisations (Eleemosynary Charity)

The Eleemosynary Charity of William Hobbayne, rooted in a 1484 bequest for parish poor relief, upholds a mission of alleviating poverty, hardship, and...

Grant Range
£100 - £5,000

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

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

Hackney Parochial Charities

Matching programme: Hackney Parochial Charities Project Grants

Hackney Parochial Charities, a historic charitable trust established in 1603 with the first legacy from Thomas Heron, is dedicated to relieving povert...

Grant Range
£500 - £2,500

Holkham Charitable Foundation

Matching programme: The Holkham Charitable Foundation

The Holkham Charitable Foundation embodies a legacy of family-led stewardship and social responsibility, established to champion local philanthropy as...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £5,000

Inman Charity

Matching programme: The Inman Charity

The Inman Charity is a UK-based grantmaking trust established in 1970 by the Inman family, dedicated to enhancing wellbeing and care for vulnerable gr...

Grant Range
£2,000 - £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

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

Livewell Foundation

Matching programme: Large Grants

The Livewell Foundation, established as the charitable arm of a pioneering social enterprise in health and social care, drives transformational impact...

Grant Range
£500 - £10,000

London Borough of Hounslow

Matching programme: Tobacco Small Grant

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

Mercers Charitable Foundation

Matching 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...

Grant Range
£25,000 - £150,000

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

Noel Sweeney Foundation

Matching programme: The Noel Sweeney Foundation Grants

The Noel Sweeney Foundation embodies the legacy of generosity and community commitment, channeling resources into grassroots initiatives uplifting you...

Grant Range
Up to £5,000

Northamptonshire Community Foundation

Matching programme: Randal Charitable Foundation Fund

Northamptonshire Community Foundation, established in the early 2000s, is the leading independent grant-making charity in Northamptonshire, dedicated ...

Grant Range
£500 - £50,000

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

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...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £10,000

Peter Minet Trust

Matching programme: Open Grants Fund

Peter Minet Trust strengthens urban communities in deprived South London areas by empowering small, embedded local charities addressing severe, multip...

Grant Range
£25,000 - £30,000

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

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

Rayne Foundation

Matching programme: Better Careers for Better Care

The Rayne Foundation, an independent UK charitable trust founded in 1962 by Lord Max Rayne, advances social cohesion by building bridges between diver...

Grant Range
£10,000 - £30,000

Rotherhithe Consolidated Charities

Matching programme: Community grants to Organisations

Rotherhithe Consolidated Charities, rooted in the Ancient Parish of Rotherhithe since the 1600s and formally registered in 1962, is a longstanding loc...

Grant Range
£500 - £5,000

Rothley Trust

Matching programme: Small Grants

The Rothley Trust is a grant-making charity established in 1959 to deliver small grants advancing charitable work among disadvantaged communities in t...

Grant Range
£1,000 - £3,000

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

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...

Grant Range
£100 - £500

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...

Grant Range
Contact funder

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

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 ...

Grant Range
£2,500 - £20,000

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...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £40,000

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

Walton on Thames Charity

Matching programme: Community Grants – Large/Committee Grants (over £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...

Grant Range
£5,000 - £25,000

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 ...

Grant Range
£7,000 - £10,000
461 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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