South Yorkshire Cost of Living Grants

Many people have been impacted by the ongoing rise in the cost of living, whether that’s through utility bills, shopping or fuel costs.

We know that a wide variety of local charities, social enterprises and community groups are doing incredible work to support people through these challenging times, from social supermarkets tackling food poverty to money advice services helping people cope with rising energy bills.

We are particularly keen to see applications from organisations led by and/or providing support to minoritized and marginalised communities in South Yorkshire.

How much can I apply for?

Up to £5,000, to be spent within one year.

Consortiums bringing together more than one community organisation in a single bid can apply for larger grants of up to £10,000.  You application should identify one organisation as the lead applicant who will hold the grant and be accountable for it, and should explain how and why the organisations are working together.

When can I apply?

Applications to this fund are currently closed.

What can I spend the money on?

Activity should support people in the current cost of living crisis, including addressing food poverty, fuel poverty and other basic necessities. This might be a particular project, or it might be a contribution to your overall costs if your organisation’s general activity is relevant to this aim.  Costs could include food or other items for distribution, volunteer expenses, room hire or rent, etc.

If your application includes staff costs, we encourage you to pay at least the real Living Wage.

Don’t forget to include a fair share of overheads like rent, utilities, and admin or management costs needed to support your work.

If your application includes items of equipment or building work (capital items) we would expect you to explain in the application how these are relevant and necessary for the work you are doing to address the cost of living crisis right now.

Where relevant, we expect you to shop around to find the best value for money and for any individual items costing over £200, you will need to include quotes to evidence this.

Making a donation to the Fund

South Yorkshire Community Foundation has received over £70,000 in donations from people wanting to assist communities dealing with the Cost of Living Crisis in South Yorkshire.