Alms

The Alms charity is a combination of several very old Christian charities created to relieve poverty in the area around St Giles-in-the-Fields church. While the last couple of centuries have seen significant changes in this part of central London, our charity continues to help local residents who are facing hardship by way of:

- Almshouse Accommodation
- Grants for Individuals
- Grants for Organisations

Grants for individuals

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What grants do we provide?

Grants for Individuals – up to £600 for people on low incomes to buy new household goods.

We award a small number of grants each year to local residents who need financial help with:

  • replacing old or broken kitchen appliances and furniture in their current homes
  • new furniture or kitchen appliances when moving into a new property.

Who can apply?

Local residents living in the area of benefit AND living on low incomes.

Please check below if you may be eligible for an Alms grant

Click on the list below and start typing the first letter of your street

This list is for guidance.  If you think your street is missing, please let us know by sending us an email.

Yes, your road falls into the area for the grant, please complete the application.

APPLY HERE

How long will it take?

Applications take about two weeks for a decision to be made, then another one to two weeks for the products to be delivered.

What can I apply for?

Mainly our grants cover household items such as kitchen appliances, furniture, bedding, carpets and clothing.  All new appliances are delivered and installed as part of the service.  Any old or broken appliances are taken away.

We also fund secondary school uniform and assisted living.  We do not provide grants for any financial debts or holidays.  We do not award cash grants.

Please read our case study – an unusual award for a mobility scooter.

How to apply?

Complete the application form in full and return it to the charity.  You can download the form or ask for one to be posted to you.

What happens next?

  • All applicants will be contacted by our Grants Officer and may be visited in your home
  • You will be expected to provide evidence of your income and expenditure
  • The Grants Officer writes a short report to enable Trustees to make a decision and this will be communicated in writing
  • For most grants, your product will be ordered through our supplier and they will contact you to arrange a convenient delivery time.

We are only able to consider one application per household in a twelve-month period, and no more than two applications over three years.

If you are a support worker, then please sign up to our grant makers newsletter for information about grants available across south Camden.  We work closely with St Pancras Welfare Trust and St Andrew, Holborn.

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Grants for organisations

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Our aim is to relieve poverty and the Trustees have identified three target groups to focus our resources on:

  • Isolated older people
  • Homeless people (including those at risk and formerly homeless)
  • Access to advice.

We offer two types of grant:

Project Funding – to support the costs of your organisation providing services to people in our target groups AND in our area of benefit.  This includes the provision of advice services.  We offer grants of up to £8,000 per annum for up to three years.

Block Grants – to provide funds that are used to meet the needs of your beneficiaries on an individual basis.  We would expect this to be a long-term partnership with any initial grant for 12-18 months but can then be renewed.  These grants are usually up to £5,000.

We do NOT accept unsolicited applications but if you think you have an appropriate project, please contact the Clerk for a discussion.  If you are invited to apply, then we will send you a link to our online application form.

More detailed guidelines can be downloaded here.

Here’s a list of all our current projects:

Project Funding

  • £8,000 PA towards cook’s salary at the Soup Kitchen at the American International Church on Goodge Street
  • £8,000 PA to support staff salaries for Camden Winter Night Shelter Scheme
  • £8,000 pa towards costs of Camden branch of Street Storage charity, offering storage facilities for rough sleepers
  • £7,910 PA to Dragon Hall to deliver social activities and lunch club for older people across the area, in partnership with  Phoenix Garden and Seven Dials Club
  • £5,000 to the Single Homeless Project towards their Spaces for Opportunity
  • £8,000 pa towards core costs of ShowerBox London offering showers to rough sleepers on Saturdays at St Giles-in-the-Fields Church

Block Grants