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Grants and Support

Introduction

Grants to Help Disabled People

Grants to Help only Disabled Children

Grants to Help with the Cost of Living

Grants based on your work industry or past work industry

Grants for Specific Health Conditions

Further Information and Useful Contacts

Applying for a Grant for Yourself

Introduction

If you have been turned down for statutory funding, or statutory funding cannot pay for what you need, you may be able to get support from grant-giving charities and trusts. Each charity or trust will decide its own priorities for who and what it will fund. Grant funders will not pay for things you have already bought, and will not provide payment to cover debts. You can apply to some funders yourself, though many require an application to be made by a professional such as a healthcare worker, social worker or charity professional. This guide provides a list of grant giving organisations relevant for disabled people.

Grants to help disabled people

Mobility Trust

Who for?

Severely disabled people, of all ages, who cannot get the equipment through other means.

What do they pay for?

• Wheelchairs and Scooters.
• The Trust provides you with equipment; it does not give grants for you to buy the equipment yourself. The Trust will arrange and pay for an occupational therapy assessment for you before they will provide any equipment.

How to apply?

To see if the Mobility Trust can help you, the first step is to fill in the information form on their website. They also have a phone number and email address, if you need more information:

Phone:  0118 9842588
Email:  mobility@mobilitytrust.org.uk

The Hospital Saturday Fund

Who for?

People of all ages with a disability/health condition

What do they pay for?

A wide range of mobility equipment, medical aids, home adaptations and therapeutic treatments such as physiotherapy.

How to apply?

You cannot apply yourself, you need a professional to apply on your behalf. Applications are made via the website, where there is also more information on what they will fund.

Independence at Home

Who for?

People of any age who are disabled or have a long term health condition, to help them live independently at home.

What do they pay for?

To receive a grant you must be in financial need, have an ‘eligible’ health condition, and be unable to obtain funding from statutory sources. Grants are provided for mobility and disability equipment, home adaptations, communications equipment, general furnishings, beds and more.

How to apply?

You cannot apply yourself, a professional must apply on your behalf using the application form on their website.

Barchester’s Charitable Foundation

Who for?

Provides grants to adults 18 + with a physical disability, learning disability, or mental health condition.

What do they pay for?

Grants of £100-£600 are given towards the cost of buying or adapting mobility equipment for outdoor use. This includes wheelchairs, mobility scooters, bikes/trikes and car adaptations.

How to apply?

You cannot apply yourself, a professional must apply on your behalf.

 

Equipment for Independent Living

Who for?

People in financial hardship over the age of 16.

What do they pay for?

Disability equipment. The equipment must help with your mobility, independence or ability to work. Applications must be made by a professional.

How to apply?

To access the grant’s contact details, professionals can set up an intermediary account on the Turn2Us grant search website.

Florence Nightingale Aid in Sickness Trust

Who for?

Provides grants to British citizens, who are disabled or in ill health.

What do they pay for?

Funds can pay for medical and household aids to help with independent living. Examples of items funded include wheelchairs, nebulisers, computers, washing machines and more. Funding must not be available elsewhere.

How to apply?

Applications must be made by a professional and when applying for specialised equipment must include an occupational health or physiotherapy report specifying the need for that particular make/brand. Application forms can be found on the Trust’s website.

Margaret’s Fund

Who for?

Women who are in ill health and in financial need.

What do they pay for?

They will pay for disability aids, clothing, extra heating, nourishment and home comforts. They will also fund convalescent holidays.

How to apply?

Applications must be made by a professional, and the money will be paid to the supporting professional’s organisation, who will then pass it onto the recipient.

The Association for the Relief of Infirmity in the West of Scotland

Who for?

• People over the age of 18 with an incurable contracted disease which isn’t Cancer, or HIV/AIDS.
• You must not have had the disease since birth, and it must not be the result of an accident. Some examples of incurable contracted diseases are Multiple Sclerosis and COPD.
• You must be facing hardship and deprivation
• You must live in the West of Scotland. There is a map on the association’s website showing what is meant by the West of Scotland. The area covered is wide, with Dumfries, Stirling and Inverness all being in the West.

What do they pay for?

• One off grants up to a maximum of £1000, for home appliances, or for equipment.
• This includes paying for stairlifts and for installing ramped access to you home.

How to apply?

• Applications must be made for you by a charity, your local council or the NHS.

Frederick Andrew Trust

Who for?

Gives grants to help women recover following a recent illness or injury, for example after an operation.

What do they pay for?

1. Support with chores at home e.g. cleaning, cooking and ironing
2. A short break away from home (in the UK ,for a maximum of 5 days) to help you recover
3. A therapy from a health professional. For example; physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or speech therapy. To be considered it must be a type of therapy regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council.

How to apply?

To apply, fill in the initial application form on the Trust’s website: https://www.frederickandrewtrust.org/apply-now

ECAS

Who for?

• physically disabled children and adults, living in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

What do they pay for?

ECAS provides grants for a wide range of things, though not mobility scooters, or powerchairs. In the past they have paid for:

• larger household items such as washing machines, fridge freezers, cookers, furniture and carpets
• IT equipment such as laptops and iPads
• power-packs retrofitted to manual wheelchairs
• student fees, sheds and holidays

How to apply?

Download an application form from ECAS’s website: https://www.ecas.scot/grants/
For more information Email: hello@ecas.scot or Call: 07500 221618

 

Grants to help disabled children

Caudwell Children’s Trust

Provides funding for disabled/chronically ill children under the age of 19 years, for mobility and sensory equipment. The trust also provides grants for children/young people up to the age of 25, for sports equipment. Equipment which can be funded includes powered wheelchairs, therapy trikes, car seats, buggies and more.

To be eligible, the child must be from a household with an overall income of less than £45,000 a year. Grants can pay for up to 70-80% of the cost of equipment.

Parents/Guardians may apply for their child, though a supporting letter from the child’s physiotherapist or occupational therapist is needed. To apply, fill in the application form on the trust’s website.

Tel: 0345 300 1348
Email: applications@caudwellchildren.com

Children’s Hope Foundation

Provides grants to children/young people up to the age of 25 with a disability, illness, and poverty. The foundation provides grants for a wide range of things that will benefit a child’s health and wellbeing. Examples include medical equipment, medical treatments ,and equipment to aid learning such as computers. The Foundation will accept applications directly from parents/guardians. To apply, download an application form from their website.

Tel: 020 7700 6855
Email: applications@childrenshopefoundation.org.uk

Challenger Children’s Fund

Provide grants for physically disabled children under 18 years, in Scotland. Funding is provided to meet a specific need not covered by statutory sources e.g clothing, apparatus, equipment, household appliances, furniture, adaptions to home or garden. Applications are normally made through a third party. Parents can contact the organisation directly.

Tel: 07531 580 414
Email: info@ccfscotland.org

Grants to help with the Cost of Living

Linking Help with Hope (LHH)

Who for?

Linking Help with Hope, formely known as the League of the Helping Hand, provides provides grants to people with a disability or health condition, or to those who care for someone with a disability/health condition.

What do they pay for?

They give one off grants of under £300 to pay for essential white goods, beds/bedding and school uniform. At the time of writing, due to a high number of applications, they will currently only accept applications for these items.

How to apply?

Applications must be made by a professional on your behalf. Application forms can be downloaded from the organisation’s website.

Fund for Human Need

Provides one off payments of up to £120 for people living in poverty in the UK. Priority is given to people who are particularly vulnerable, have little or no income/benefits, and where a small payment will make a big difference.

It is preferred (though not essential), that applications are submitted by a professional from a charity, church, community group, housing association or the NHS. Application forms can be downloaded from the Fund for Human Need’s Website. They should then be emailed or posted back to the organisation.

Email (for applications): fhn.apply@gmail.com
Postal address (for applications) : 6 Newlands Road, Darlington, Co Durham, DL3 9JL

Email (for information): fundhumanneed@gmail.com

 

The Talisman Charitable Trust

Provides grants to people ‘going short’; on a low income or living in poverty. One off grants are provided to help with disability as well as education, health and housing.

Applications must be made on your behalf by a council worker, Citizen’s Advice or charity worker. Grants can only be made if you have claimed all the state benefits you are entitled to.

Percy Bilton Charity

Assistance for people who are disabled or have long term health conditions, as well as people who are over the age of 65. All applicants must be on a low income or in financial need. The charity mostly provides white goods such as a washing machines, cookers, fridges, beds, hoovers, and portable heaters, but can also provide help with essential clothing and shoes. They can also help with carpets and flooring in cases where there is a health and safety issue.

Applications for individuals can only be made via support workers working within the Council or NHS.

The Royal Society for the Support of Women of Scotland

This society doesn’t tend to provide grants for specific items, but instead can provide regular payments to top up the income of single women in Scotland, age 50+. To apply, you must be on a low income (£14,900 a year in 2024/5), and they will usually only support women with savings of less £16,000. You will need to provide all your financial details when you apply.

You can apply online on the website: https://www.igf.org/Apply

Or you can ask the society to send you a paper copy of the form, by calling 0131 229 2308, or writing to the Society at:

RSSWS
14 Rutland Square,
Edinburgh,
EH1 2BD

Glasgow Care Foundation

The Glasgow Care Foundation gives essential household items like beds, washing machines, fridges, cookers to Glasgow residents in need, who have lived in the city for at least 5 years. You must apply to Glasgow council’s Scottish Welfare Fund and/or other grant funders first, before approaching the Glasgow Care Foundation. Applications must be made by a professional through the foundation’s website.

 

 

Benevolent funds

Many large employers, trade associations, professional bodies and trade unions have benevolent funds which are open to applications from employees or ex-employees of a specific industry. Sometimes they can also help the dependents of the employee/ex employee too. Here is a list of some benevolent funds that might be relevant to you:

For Nurses/Ex Nurses:

• The Benevolent Fund for Nurses in Scotland
• The Nurses Memorial
• The Cavell Trust which also helps current/ex healthcare assistants

Drinks & Hospitality Industry:

• Bensoc
• Hospitality Action
• Drinks Trust
• Licensed Trade Charity

Retail & Sales:

• Grocery Aid
• The Salespeople’s Charity
• Retail Trust
• Fashion and Textile Children’s Trust: for parents or carers of a child under 18 who work (or have worked) in a fashion, textile or clothing related business

Armed Forces/ex armed forces:

• The British Legion
• SSAFA

Other Industries:

• Dance Fund: dancers, dance teachers and choreographers
• RSABI: Scottish agriculture
• BEN: automotive industry workers
• Perennial: horticulture Industry

Grants for people with specific health conditions

Some charities and trusts related to a specific health condition offer financial assistance to people with that health condition. Some examples are:

• Cystic Fibrosis Trust 
• Kidney Care UK
• Macmillan (for people with cancer)
• Young Lives vs Cancer (for children and young people with cancer aged 0-24)
• Pulmonary Fibrosis Trust
• The Brittle Bone Society Equipment Grant
• Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Joseph Patrick Trust
• Meningitis Now Rebuilding Futures Fund
• Terrence Higgins Hardship Fund  (for people living with HIV)
• James and Grace Anderson Trust (for people with cerebral palsy & carers of those with cerebral palsy)
• Nihal Armstrong Trust (Grants for under 18’s with Cerebral Palsy)
• Spinal Injuries Scotland
• Aspire (for people with Spinal Cord Injury)

Further Information and useful contacts

There are many grant and trust funders that may help you, and we can only list a small number of them here. A good source of information about grant funders is the Turn2us website here Turn2us Grants Search

You may qualify for help because of a disability, or because of your other circumstances, such as being on a low income.

The final section of this guide gives suggestions on the kind of information that may help if you are applying for a grant for yourself.

For information on financial assistance for holidays, see our Holiday and Respite Grants information guide

 

Applying for a grant for yourself

If you have found a charity or trust that will accept an application directly from you, you are likely to need to provide them with a lot of information. Grant funders will each have their own rules, but most will want to know that you have claimed all the benefits that you are entitled to and that you are not applying for something a statutory service (such as the council or NHS) should be providing. Each grant funder will have its own priorities, and may decide who they can help based on age, location, religion, disability or other circumstances.

You can find many trusts through the Turn2us website Turn2us Grants Search

When you search for a grant or make an application, the questions you are likely to be asked include information about:

• your age
• address
• other people you live with
• the work you do or used to do
• your income, savings and expenses
• health conditions or disabilities
• caring responsibilities
• why you are applying: why you need funding and the difference it will make if your application succeeds

If the grant maker will accept an application from you, but you’d like a hand with the application, you can ask your local Citizens Advice Bureau to help or call our helpline on 0300 323 9961 and we will try to find a local organisation that can help you.

Information last updated on 2 September 2024. Please note that information may be subject to change. All information is provided in good faith but Disability Information Scotland does not endorse any product or service referred to within this resource.

We are grateful to the Scottish Government for funding this publication