The Tackling Financial Hardship funds

Panel A’s Fund

The Tackling Financial Hardship Fund (A) is a one off funding cycle awarding £250,000 in grants to relieve and reduce financial hardship in the UK, with a specific focus on supporting:

• Asylum seekers
• Young people
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities
• Those with experience of domestic violence
• Single parent households
• Women and girls

It will offer grants of up to £15,000 to charities and community groups (unregistered or registered) with a turnover of less than £100,000. Organisations whose turnover is above, but close to, this threshold can still apply, with an explanation of why they should be considered.

In the application, organisations can propose what they would do with the funding, which can include providing cash grants to individuals provided robust systems are in place. Individuals cannot apply for funding directly to this fund. Although grants must focus on financial hardship and your application needs to explain how you expect to spend the grant, you can change plans and redirect the funding as needed to respond to the crisis. You can do this without having to formally request changes or wait for approvals – time is of the essence, and we want to support you to use grants as needed locally.

Grants will be made only to organisations that are led or informed by representatives of the groups that it serves. Organisations can explain how they meet this criterion in applications.

Panel B’s Fund

The Tackling Financial Hardship Fund (B) is a one-off funding cycle awarding £125,000 in grants to relieve and reduce financial hardship in the UK, with a specific focus on supporting:

• Young people
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities
• Single parent households
• People with disabilities
• Asylum seekers and those with NRPF

Grants between £5,000 and £25,000 will be offered to charities and community groups (unregistered or registered) with a turnover of less than £200,000.

Please note that this funding stream will not fund organisations looking to pass on a grant to individuals through this fund, or fund individuals directly. Although grants must focus on financial hardship and your application needs to explain how you expect to spend the grant, you can change plans and redirect the funding as needed to respond to the crisis. You can do this without having to formally request changes or wait for approvals – time is of the essence, and we want to support you to use grants as needed locally.  If the core aim of the organisation is the relief of financial hardship then core costs will be accepted as a spending plan within your application.

Grants will be made only to organisations that are led or informed by representatives of the groups that it serves. Organisations can explain how they meet this criterion in applications.

These two separate funds have been designed by panellists participating in NPC’s Open Philanthropy programme. You can find out more about the programme here.

If you have more questions about the funds, please see our Frequently Asked Questions.