Charitable funding
The RCN Foundation
The RCN Foundation is a registered charity that supports nursing to improve the health and wellbeing of the public. The RCN Foundation provides:
- benevolent funding
- education and training bursaries
- funding for projects which support the development of clinical practice and the improvement of care
- funding to develop practice enabling people and communities to make positive changes about their own health and wellbeing.
Visit www.rcnfoundation.org.uk for further information on funds and how to apply.
If you are experiencing financial difficulty and have to meet a specific cost beyond your means then you may be eligible for financial assistance from one or more charities or trust funds. The list of charities below are ones the RCN has researched as potentially being able to help nursing staff.
Occupational benevolent funds
You may want to consider looking further than the RCN Benevolent Fund for financial assistance. Have you worked in another profession for part of your career? Does your partner work outside of nursing? There are many occupational charities that may be able to assist. They can be located using the Turn2us website www.turn2us.org.uk or you can call the Association of Charity Officers on 01707 651 777 on Monday to Friday between 10am and 4pm.
If you find a particular fund who you think could help you, please get in touch with them directly to find out more. Each of the charities has eligibility criteria and rules about how to apply. Some welcome direct applications while others prefer referrals from other organisations such as another charity or social services.
Health-related charities
If you have a specific illness or disability then there may be charities that can assist you to purchase specialist equipment. You should contact the relevant charities for further information. Your local library will have a copy of a publication called A guide to grants for individuals in need. This guide provides a comprehensive list of all grant-giving charities and is published by the Directory of Social Change (www.dsc.org.uk/FundingWebsites).
List of benevolent funds
Some of the funds have websites you can visit and others require telephone or written contact only. Take a look at our list of benevolent funds and contact details (PDF 105KB) [see how to access PDF files].