Finding Charitable Loans and Grants

Grants and other charitable funds are unlikely to offer enough cash to cover the entire cost of your child’s education, or further education at university. However, educational charities, trusts and other similar organisations may well be able to offer you or your child help to access extra money, that may alleviate financial strain.

These kinds of charities and trusts tend to have very specific terms that you have to fulfil to qualify for funding. They may, for example, target students or pupils attending certain schools, universities or colleges, following a particular course of study, within a certain age frame, from a specific area of the UK (or elsewhere in the world), or from a specific background, for example parents working in a certain industry.

How Much Can I Expect?

Most small charities, such as church organisations or industry groups, offer payments of between £300 - £500 for individual children or students. It is unlikely to be much higher than this, although obviously there will be exceptional circumstances for some children that might receive more money. Note that educational charities will normally offer families single, one off payments rather than a regular pay out every term or year, for example.

Charities often like to see or hear of a return on their investment, and might for example prefer to sponsor or buy a particular purchase or course. Some will specialise in helping students to receive some child care fees back, for example, or might buy a school pupil a laptop or another aid to an education being held back by a learning disability. These kinds of appeals by families or students will normally be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Circumstances For Receiving Funds

Bursaries and charitable funds are normally not distributed according to merit or academic ability, but by financial need. So they are more likely to be offered to families and students who would not otherwise be able to afford to attend a certain school or course, or for those who are suffering from illness and whose need for assistance results from that sickness or other unforeseen circumstances, Note that for university-level study, the majority of charities only offer help to first-time students, rather than those embarking on a second degree or postgraduate education.

Funding Charities and Educational Trusts

Your first step should be your local public library and educational institution. Many universities will list previously successful sources of funding. Check out the following books, too: The Educational Grants Directory, Directory of Social Change (DSC); A Guide to Grants for Individuals in Need, DSC; Directory of Grant Making Trusts, DSC. Other potentially helpful organisations include:

Educational Grants Advisory Service
International Awards 2001+, published by the Association of Commonwealth Universities ACU, and available in most university libraries or British Council Offices.
Directory of Social Change
Charities Digest, Waterlow’s Legal Publishing
Scholarships for Study in the USA and Canada, Peterson’s