The St Monica Trust is pleased to launch the Volunteering and Employment for Older People Fund for projects that support older people to live their best lives.
The St Monica Trust's 10-year Strategy focuses on three guiding principles for older people: enabling connection, contribution, and choice. The fund aims to promote positive perceptions of ageing by supporting initiatives that:
- Challenge negative stereotypes and celebrate older individuals' contributions.
- Encourage the active participation of older adults in both paid and unpaid work, allowing them to utilise their skills.
- Foster community integration, ensuring older adults feel valued and included.
- Promote healthy, meaningful ageing, emphasising growth and contribution rather than decline.
The fund covers both core and delivery costs, with grants available from a few thousand pounds up to £30,000. However, as continuation funding will not be available, it is essential that projects are designed with sustainability in mind beyond the funding period. The ultimate goal is to create a more inclusive society where older people are respected, supported, and empowered.
Successful projects could include:
- Helping older people return to work or gain work through targeted employment support.
- Working with employers to support their existing 55+ aged workforce to plan for later life, to recognise the value of older workers and/or be committed to improving working conditions for the older workforce to enable them to flourish.
- Addressing barriers that prevent older people accessing volunteering or employment opportunities and making organisations and employers aware of these barriers and change their practices to become more age-friendly.
To make the application process more accessible, St Monica Trust is using a two-stage process. Interested parties are invited to first submit an Expression of Interest using the form on their website. Please ensure you review the Fund Overview before completing your submission. These documents are available on the website.
The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest is mid-day on Friday, 01 November 2024.
If St Monica Trust feels your project aligns with their strategic aims, they will then invite you to submit a full application.