Welfare Grants Programme
About this service
Financial pressures can have a big impact on individuals and families and often make managing other challenges even harder. Our Welfare Grants Programme is aimed at people who already receive means-tested benefits but still need a little helping hand to afford basics or replace essentials like a broken washing machine. Together with emotional support this can help individuals and families avoid a bigger crisis and get back on track.
Find out more about our funding eligibility criteria below and how to apply.
Our Welfare Grants Programme has now closed for new applications due to overwhelming demand. It is unlikely that we will open again until December 2024.
Due to the numbers involved, we regret that we are not able to email individuals or organisations when we have more funds. Up to date information on funds available will be provided on our website so please check as and when you want to submit an application.
Who is eligible for a grant?
Applications must meet all of the criteria below to be considered and can only be made by a suitable referring organisation such as a statutory agency or charity that provides health or social care, housing associations, probation services and GP’s. Members of the public cannot apply themselves directly.
Be in receipt of one or more of the means-tested benefits listed below:
- Income-based JSA
- Income-related ESA
- Income Support
- Universal Credit
- Housing Benefit
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
- Council Tax Support
Have right of residency in the UK.
All applicants must fall into one or more of the following priority areas:
- Mental Health: Support for adults (over the age of 18) with a clinical diagnosis of a mental health condition.
- Domestic Abuse: Support for families or individuals who have recently experienced domestic abuse.
- Older People: Support to promote independence; improve the quality of life and isolation for those aged 60 and over. Please note that we will require ID for the applicant that shows proof of age, this can be a passport, driving license or birth certificate.
- Holidays for Women living in Greater London: Support to provide a recuperative holiday to recover health or strength after a long illness, physical or mental. The holiday must be applied for either during the illness or within 6 months of discharge from hospital or end of treatment and the application must be supported by evidence from an NHS professional. Please note this fund is for women* and their children who are under 18 years old who live in the Greater London area. *This fund is open to those who identify as women, inclusive of trans women, and also to non-binary people and people of other minoritised genders.
How to apply
If an indvidual meets all the eligability criteria above, you can create an account and apply below. Applications can only be made by a suitable referring organisation such as a statutory agency or charity that provides health or social care, housing associations, probation services and GP’s. Members of the public cannot apply themselves directly.
Before submitting an application on behalf of an individual you need to ensure they understand how their data will be used and obtain their consent to it being processed by Family Action, for the purposes of making an application for a grant. For full details please refer to the Terms and Conditions attached to the on-line application form.
Our Welfare Grants Programme has now closed for new applications due to overwhelming demand. It is unlikely that we will open again until December 2024.
Frequently asked questions
All applications must be made, on-line, by a suitable referring organisation. Suitable referring organisations include: statutory agencies or charities that provide health or social care; housing associations; probation services and GP’s.
Prior to submitting an application on behalf of an applicant you need to ensure they understand how the data will be used and to obtain their consent to their data being processed by Family Action, for the purposes of making an application for a grant from the Fund. For full details please refer to the Terms and Conditions attached to the on-line application form.
We do not accept applications directly from individual members of the public.
Current employees/volunteers of a Referral Organisation or their family members are not permitted or eligible to make an application for a grant under this Scheme.
We are only able to accept applications from referring organisations that:
- have knowledge of and are able to assess the needs of the individual or family in need
- have a bank account in its own name* and are able to bank and administer grants on our behalf. Payments will only be made to the referring organisation unless an Argos eGift card is requested during the application process.
*If payment is to be made by BACs we require appropriate evidence of the organisation’s bank account, e.g. a bank statement, before we can make grants payments. Satisfactory evidence will only be required once; thereafter all BACs payments will be made into the same account. Evidence of bank details will not be required if payment is to be made by Argos eGift card.
Our welfare grants programme primarily provides grants for essential personal and household needs such as cookers, washing machines, fridge/freezers, beds and bedding. Holidays for women resident in Greater London can be provided for those who meet the criteria above.
Items we will not fund include: day to day living expenses; council tax arrears; debts (including utility bills); fines; rent deposits, arrears or payments; moving costs; funeral expenses (including associated expenses, such as headstones); gifts (such as toys for birthdays, Christmas or other festivals); repayment of Social Fund or other loans; bankruptcy or insolvency costs; items already purchased; driving lessons; computers; televisions; citizenship applications; legal fees; passport applications; costs associated with employment or education (including school uniforms); sponsorship; general appeals; funding for projects or groups; disability/mobility aids; holidays (except holidays for women living in Greater London that meet the criteria above).
The average grant for essential personal and household needs is likely to be in the region of £200 to a maximum of £300. Grants of up to £600 can be made for women’s holidays (depending on the size of the family).
We are only able to consider one application per applicant in any 12 month period for essential and personal household needs. We are only able to consider one application every 3 years if an application is submitted under the Holidays for Women living in Greater London priority group.
Subject to funding being available applications can be submitted at any time. If funds are not available information will be posted on our website at www.family-action.org.uk. Please check that funds are available before submitting an application.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON FUNDING AVAILABLE. PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE TRYING TO APPLY.
Our Welfare Grants Programme has now closed for new applications due to overwhelming demand. It is unlikely that we will open again until December 2024.
Due to the numbers involved, we regret that we are not able to email individuals or organisations when we have more funds. Up to date information on funds available will be provided on our website so please check as and when you want to submit an application.
Dated: 24th July 2024
- Press CTRL and click on this link: https://family-action-trustsearch.org.uk/apply/wel/intro.aspx
- Enter your email address and click on the link to continue. Please note: You will not be able to submit an application unless your email address has a suitable domain name such as “org.uk” or “nhs.uk”. Generic emails such as “gmail.com” are not acceptable.
- If you are new to the system, the system will ask you a few basic questions about you before creating your account. It will then email you a temporary password.
- Click on the link provided in the email and follow the instructions to set up your account password.
- Click “Create a new Welfare application” and complete the application form.
- The application is saved automatically as you move from one page to another. If you wish to save your application form and return to it later click the save button on the last screen completed.
- Click “Submit” to send your application to Family Action. Note: After you click “submit” you will not be able to make changes as you will no longer be able to access the application.
NOTE: Once you have a password it can be used for all applications. If you forget your password just follow the instructions on the screen to create a new password.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON FUNDING AVAILABLE. PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW BEFORE TRYING TO APPLY.
Our Welfare Grants Programme has now closed for new applications due to overwhelming demand. It is unlikely that we will open again until December 2024.
Due to the numbers involved, we regret that we are not able to email individuals or organisations when we have more funds. Up to date information on funds available will be provided on our website so please check as and when you want to submit an application.
Dated: 24th July 2024
- Press CTRL and click on the link provided above.
- Enter your email address and click on the link.
- When prompted, enter your password and click on the link.
- Either click on “create a new application” OR select an incomplete application by clicking on the application number to continue.
Yes, we will require evidence of means-tested benefits received such as a universal credit statement, showing the name of the applicant and details of benefits received that is less than 3 months old.
If you are making an application under the “older people” priority group you will also be required to provide evidence of age, e.g. passport or driving licence.
If you are making an application under the “Women living in Greater London” priority group you will also be required to provide evidence that the applicant is recovering from a long physical or mental illness such as a letter from a NHS professional. Please note that recuperative holidays can only be applied for during a course of treatment OR within 6 months of discharge from hospital/end of treatment.
Email the Grants Service at [email protected] detailing your problem and using screen grabs to illustrate your problem, if appropriate. The grants service will get back to you as quickly as possible. We review all emails and if our automated response does not answer your questions we will reply individually and telephone if necessary if a contact number is provided.
We are only able to offer limited telephone support so in the first instance please email your enquiry to [email protected]. Our telephone helpline is currently open between 1pm to 3pm from Tuesday to Friday. Calls will not be taken outside these hours however you can always email us.
You will immediately receive an automated email providing you with a unique reference number for the application submitted (please quote this number in any future correspondence) and the latest date of the meeting at which the application will be considered by the grants team.
You will be informed of the outcome, by email, within 3 working days of the meeting date at which the application is considered.
Payment of grants to successful applicants will either be made by BACS to the referring organisation OR by an Argos eGift card which will be sent directly to the beneficiary by Argos. If the payment is to be made by Argos eGift card Family Action will email the beneficiary direct with the pin code with which they can activate their eGift card so a personal email address of the beneficiary must be provided on the application form. Argos eGift cards cannot be sent to the referring organisations email address.
The eGift card may be used at any Argos store, or online at www.argos.co.uk
Payment options for Family Action service users are detailed on the application form.
The referring organisation will make the choice as to which payment method is preferred on the application form.
The majority of unsuccessful applications are because the applicant does not meet our eligibility criteria so it is very important to check these before taking the time to submit an application. The other key reason is because funds are not available – we have allocated all the funds.
Eligibility criteria are published on the website where we also publish updates on funds available at any given time so it is important that you read ALL information available on the website before submitting your application.
If your grant application is unsuccessful and you would like us to review our decision we are happy to do so on receipt of an email detailing the reasons why you feel a review is required. In your email please provide the unique reference number of the application in the subject line of the email and send it to [email protected] We will respond to each review request individually as soon as we can which will usually be within 7 working days.
Please note we will only enter into correspondence with the referring organisation that submitted the application.
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