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Funding to Help Charities Struggling with Rising Energy Costs


With the cost of living skyrocketing, charities and social enterprises are faced with a double burden of balancing increased demand for their services, with the rising cost of simply keeping their organisations afloat, and delivering those much needed services. Alas, there is help at hand in the form of grants and loans specifically designed to respond to the spiralling costs faced by charitable organisations.


Big Issue Invest is offering loans of up to £150,000 for charities and social enterprises across England, to help them afford energy bills and maintain their operations. The loans can be used to fund the installation of renewable energy equipment, more efficient lights, heat pumps and insulation, as well as replacing old boilers or single-glazed windows which are less cost-effective and undermine energy-saving measures.

Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said “With higher energy costs, money spent on energy saving and renewables can pay itself back quickly.”


To be accepted for a loan, charities and social enterprises will need to demonstrate an energy saving plan and the means to repay the loan in time. You can find out more here.


Alternatively, Asda Foundation have recently launched a cost of living grant, to support the running costs of charitable community groups until February 2023. Grants of £500 to £2000 are being offered to alleviate the burden of increased rental costs, increased food costs and electricity /utility bills. Eligible groups must be nonprofit, and have a presence in, and benefit to, the local community.

Each Asda store has a Community Champion who acts as a port-of-call for local community groups in need of funding and assistance, and will support, submit and manage grant applications. For BaNES-based groups, this would be either Asda Longwell Green, Asda Trowbridge, Asda Bristol Whitchurch, Asda Frome, or Asda Melksham. Community Champions at Asda stores can also help with requests for Emergency Funding, which can be offered on a personal level in the event of, for example, a house fire or community wide flood.


Full guidance on the Asda Foundation Cost of Living grant can be found here, including eligibility criteria, information on how to apply and what to expect, as well as example applications. Application window is open until February 2023, but may close earlier if the budget cap is reached.

You can find out more about other Asda Foundation grants here.


If your organisation is supporting those in the community most affected by the cost of living crisis, you can also make the most of Aviva's match-funding, previously covered on our news page here.




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