Independent Age has distributed £475,013 through its Older People’s Fund to:

Latin American Women’s Rights Service (Islington)
Subco Trust (Stratford)
Derman – for the wellbeing of Kurdish and Turkish communities (Hoxton)
East & South East Asian Community Centre (Hackney)
Across the whole of England and Wales the fund has awarded over £2 million to locally based charities that support older women from racially minoritised groups in financial hardship. The grants are for a three-year period and range from £60,000 up to £120,000.

The organisations who have been awarded funding are trusted and established in their local areas, providing vital support to their communities around the UK. The funding will help expand their work supporting older women to boost their income, cut costs, and live in safe and suitable housing.

This is the latest in a series of grants funds launched by Independent Age. The national charity for older people in financial hardship awarded over £5 million of grant-funding in 2024.

The Older People’s Fund is aimed at older people more likely to be in financial hardship in later life. Women and people from racially minoritised groups are at a higher risk experiencing poverty in older age. In future rounds, the Older People’s Fund will focus on organisations helping different groups at risk of poverty highlighted in the charity’s report The hidden two million. This includes private renters, carers and people with disabilities or long-term conditions.

Hannah Lison, Head of Grants and Partnerships at Independent Age, said:

“We are thrilled to be working with these brilliant organisations over the next three years, they all provide vital and high-quality services within their local communities.

“This fund reflects our continued commitment to improve the lives of older people in financial hardship in the UK. The work being done by these organisations to help older women from racially minoritised groups access support, such as financial entitlements like Pension Credit or help with inadequate housing, is essential and changes lives. We look forward to supporting all 18 charities with the great work they will do over the next three years.”

To find out more about Independent Age’s grant opportunities, visit their website: https://www.independentage.org/grant-making