Boosting Advice Fund
Independent Age’s ambition is to improve the lives of one million older people facing financial hardship by 2027.
We recognise that one route to achieve this is to improve the support older people receive and their access to it, by funding charities who deliver advice.
Submissions of Expressions of Interest for this fund are now closed. To hear about future grant programmes, please subscribe to our mailing list.
We want to support organisations to provide high-quality advice for older people facing financial hardship. Grants will be for a three-year period and eligible organisations will be able to apply for a minimum of £90,000 (£30,000 per year) and up to £150,000 (£50,000 per year).
The Boosting Advice Fund will distribute up to £1.8 million of funding in total to deliver projects in five targeted areas across the UK.
England
- Newcastle
- Manchester
- Leicester
- South London – the boroughs of Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham
Scotland
• Glasgow
These areas have been selected based on various factors, including the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and census data highlighting populations of older people.
This is our second round of funding for the Boosting Advice Fund. See the areas that we awarded funding to in the first round of the Boosting Advice Fund.
What we want to achieve
For us, an improved life is increased financial wellbeing, enabling greater choice and independence in wider areas of life. We will therefore provide funding for advice organisations whose work is helping older people improve their financial well-being and will achieve outcomes against the following themes:
- Income – Older people facing financial hardship will have sufficient income and receive the financial support they're entitled to e.g. Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance, Carers Allowance.
- Costs – Older people facing financial hardship are protected from unfair or avoidable costs. This might include work around: bill reduction, supporting an older person with housing repairs, dealing with rent increases and supporting an older person who is homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Who can apply?
The Fund will award three-year grants to support charities that can provide advice to older people facing financial hardship.
Organisations applying should:
- Have an established track record of providing high-quality advice
- Be able to demonstrate existing reach, or a robust plan to increase reach to older people aged 65+ facing financial hardship. You don’t have to be currently working with older people, but if you aren’t, we’d like to hear about how you plan to
- Provide face-to-face advice work as an element of their project, as we see this as an important option for many older people.
- Be able to deliver in-person advice within one or more of the targeted geographical areas outlined above.
Applying
Submissions of Expressions of Interest (EOI) for this fund are now closed.
Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their EOI by 12 March 2025. If successful at EOI stage, applicants will have until 9 April 2025 to submit a full application.
Applicants will be advised of the outcome of the full application by mid-June 2025 with funding for successful applicants available from the 1 July 2025. Funded projects should begin no later than 1 October 2025.
Before applying, please ensure to read our application guidance and frequently asked questions document.
Support from Independent Age during the application process
We want to do everything we can to support you through this process. For any queries not covered in the guidance or FAQ documents, please contact the grants team at grants@independentage.org or call 020 7605 4460.
If you have any access requirements that might pose a barrier to application, please let us know and we will do everything we can to support you through the application process. We would be happy to arrange a phone call/video call if that would be helpful.
We may be able to offer additional time to complete the EOI/application form if you need it due to an access requirement. For example, if you use British Sign Language and are working with an interpreter to complete the form. Requests for extra time will be reviewed individually.
