Due to the large demand on our funds, we are currently running a more strategically focused grant making programme and therefore may not be able to support your project financially.

However, one of our Regional Development Officers might be able to offer you guidance on areas such as the set-up and development of your project, identifying other fundraising sources or general fundraising guidance.

If you would like guidance from one of our Regional Development Officers, please send a brief outline of your project's work and the type of guidance you need to the following address:

Regional Distributions
Help the Aged
207-221 Pentonville Rd
London N1 9UZ

Please note that there are still grants available for the set-up and development of older persons' forums under the Speaking Up for Our Age programme.

Who has benefited from Help the Aged's grants and guidance?

To give you an idea of what kind of projects Help the Aged assists, in the past year we have worked with projects in the following areas:

• Specialist Care Services: these include day care centres, hospices, dementia care projects, disability projects and services for homeless people.
• Preserving Independence: Projects which enable older people to maintain independence, such as home visiting/befriending, relief for carers, meals on wheels, home repair services and home security.
• Guidance and Information/Advocacy/Research: Projects offering guidance to people, e.g. welfare benefits and guidance, producing publications and printing guidance leaflets.
• Access To Buildings: Providing better access to venues where social activities take place. This category also encompasses some elements of staffing/setting up Community and Day Centres.
• Access To Transport: Transport services, such as community transport and meals-on-wheels services.
• Access To Opportunities: Projects which assist people in remaining active, such as leisure, arts and exercise programmes.
• Older People's Forums (Speaking Up For Our Age): This programme encourages older people to set up forums as an effective way of influencing local and national policies and services.

Any project we support with guidance must fulfil certain criteria. Projects must:

• Come from a formally constituted organisation or working towards that status
• Demonstrate that their service is used mainly by older people and their carers
• Be managed by voluntary organisations or those working towards that status
• Reach local communities and target vulnerable or disadvantaged older people
• Be supported by and involve older people
• Meet a need where there is a clearly defined gap in services and opportunities
• Have a clear idea of what needs to be achieved and how to build on it

Areas not considered under this programme include:

• Individuals, private organisations and companies
• Loans and retrospective funding
• Residential nursing homes and sheltered housing
• Fabric appeals for public buildings, including churches
• Registered social landlords

For more information on funding, please download the Community Support Programme document from the right hand side of the page.

Grants are part of Community Living - services that help older people to stay healthy, active and engaged with the community and society as a whole.