Skinners’ Benevolent Trust

The Skinners' Benevolent Trust aims to support isolated adults living on a very low income, who have been cut off in some way from society and who are trying to re-build their lives. We provide grants of up to £250 for essential household items that cannot be paid for from statutory funds.

Please note: following a comprehensive review in early 2012, various aspects of the Trust's eligibility criteria have changed. From 20 February 2012 we will only be accepting applications under the new criteria as laid out below:

Who can apply?

Adults who fall into one (or more) of the following priority areas:

• living with mental health issues
• in recovery from substance/alcohol use
• victims of domestic violence.

We can also accept applications from adults who:

• are in receipt of a state retirement pension
• have some kind of disability or chronic illness.

All applicants must live in one of the following Skinners’ Areas:

• The City of London
• The London Borough of Camden (particularly Kings Cross)
• The London Borough of Enfield
• The London Borough of Hackney
• The London Borough of Hounslow
• The Borough of Tonbridge & Malling
• The Borough of Tunbridge Wells

These areas are where the Skinners’ Company has a presence, either through its own existing work in education, social housing (almshouses) or where there are historic links.

Eligibility criteria

As well as the above, applicants will also need to:

• Be living on their own or with children under the age of 18
• Be in receipt of a means-tested benefit
• Be supported by a sponsoring agency (eg, Social Services, housing association, support service, refuge/ rehabilitation organisation or local charity). Sponsors need to have personal, ongoing knowledge of their client’s situation and a facility for receiving and monitoring the money we provide to ensure funds are spent on the item applied for
• Have already applied to the Social Fund (or, where applicable, for a Community Care Grant) and received a decision.

We can consider grants for such essential household items as:

• White goods, such as cookers, washing machines, dryers, fridges and freezers
• Furniture, such as beds, tables, chairs and sofas
• Furnishings, such as bedding, curtains, floor covering and carpets.

Our grants range in size up to a maximum of £250. Sponsors need to clearly identify a single cost for specific item/s within this range and provide us with an estimate. 

We cannot help with:

• Applications made by individuals or organisations providing “one-off” or “drop-in” support or advice
• Requests for items that fall outside our criteria (eg computer or mobility equipment, clothing, debts, payment of utility bills, building works/modifications)
• Items that have already been purchased
• Applications on behalf of children
• Requests from people who have received a grant in the previous two years

How to apply

Sponsors should contact the Grants Administrator for an application form via:

• Email: charitiesadmin@skinners.org.uk
• Tel: 020 7213 0562
• or by post:
  The Skinners’ Benevolent Trust
  Skinners’ Hall
  8 Dowgate Hill
  London EC4R 2SP

Applications can be submitted at any time during the year. We consider applications on a monthly basis, depending on what funds are available. If the application is successful, we will be in touch to discuss the conditions on which the grant has been made (eg, where funds have been pledged, subject to further fundraising if the item exceeds our limit of £250).

Our benefactors

The Trust's funds are derived from bequests made over the centuries for the relief of poverty. We would like to recognise and commemorate the following benefactors: Thomas Hunt, Sir Thomas Devitt, Lady Tyrrell Giles, George & Martha Walton Wise, John Meredith, Sir James Lancaster, Sir Jeremiah Colman, Mr & Mrs Eardley Wilmot and Frederic Holl-Morris.

 

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