Educational charities and trusts often have specific and unusual terms of reference. They may be restricted to helping, for example, students only on certain courses of study, above or below a certain age (often 21 or 25), from particular parts of Britain or countries of the world, or in defined occupations, professions or industries. 

Payments of between £300 - £500

Students don’t usually receive more than about £300 - £500 from any one charity. Charities generally make single rather than recurrent payments.

Payments tend to be for particular items, e.g. tools or equipment, or for a specific purpose, e.g. childcare, or payments that the charity or trust believes might make the difference between completion and non-completion for the student concerned. 

Symathetic towards sickness

Charities are more sympathetic to students whose need for assistance results from sickness or unforeseen circumstances, and many charities only give assistance to first-time students.

Postgraduate assistance is difficult

Assistance is more difficult to find if you are a postgraduate or taking a second undergraduate course. Applications often take some time to process, so it’s wise to apply for support well in advance of the course start date. 

Examples of charities and educational trusts

Further information

Your local public library or that of your institution may have copies of publications which do offer details of trust, charities and other sources of funding.  These include: 

• 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 useful publications and organisations include: 

Educational Grants Advisory Service
Tel: 020 7254 6251
Web: www.egas-online.org.uk  

Directory of Social Change
Tel: 020 7391 4800
Web: www.dsc.org.uk  

Charities Digest, Waterlow’s Legal Publishing
Web: www.waterlow.com  

The Grants Register, Palgrave Macmillan
Web: www.palgrave.com
This is particularly relevant to postgraduate student awards for both the UK and overseas.

Study Abroad, UNESCO
Web: www.unesco.org  

International Awards 2001+, published by the Association of Commonwealth Universities ACU, and available in most university libraries or British Council Offices. 
Web: www.acu.ac.uk/yearbook/awards.html  

Scholarships for Study in the USA and Canada, Peterson’s
Web: www.petersons.com

British and International Music Yearbook, Rhinegold
British Music Education Yearbook, Rhinegold 
Web: www.rhinegold.co.uk