Are we eligible?
To decide if your family is eligible for a grant, Family Fund looks at your income and the impact of disability on your child.
Grants are available for families on a low income who are raising a child or young person with a long-term disability, disabling condition or life-limiting illness. Please note that grants also depend on available funding.
To see if your family is eligible for a grant, we need to assess your income and the impact of disability on your child.
We also need you to confirm your UK residency status. As the child’s main carer, you will need to have lived within the UK for six months or more. Please note that if you are not a UK national, we may need to ask you for a residency card, or similar paperwork.
Your income
We support families on a low income from working, or benefits. You are likely to be eligible for a grant if your family’s main carer receives one of the following:
- Universal Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income Related Employment Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Housing Benefit
- Pension Credit
You will need to send us a copy of your most recent benefit entitlement. This can be a letter or a screenshot, showing the name of your family’s main carer, and current address.
You can still apply if you don’t receive any benefits. We just need you to provide some extra information about your household income, or speak to someone to confirm your family income and situation. Unfortunately, we are not usually able to award a grant if you have a significant level of household income, savings or capital.
Your child and young person’s eligibility
To help make a decision on your grant application, we need information about your child’s disability but, please note that your child does not need to have had a formal diagnosis.
If your child needs a high level of support in at least three of the areas below, you may be eligible to apply to us:
 | Personal care: your child needs a high level of physical support with feeding, washing, toileting or moving and transferring. |
 | Access to social activities: your child needs a high level of support to engage socially, and take part in, activities. |
 | Education: your child needs a high level of support with education and learning. Please let us know who gives this assistance, and in what ways. |
 | Communication: your child needs a high level of support listening, speaking and understanding. |
 | Supervision and vigilance: your child needs a high level of supervision and measures to ensure their safety. |
 | Medical or therapeutic treatment, or condition management: your child needs a high level of support in the form of treatment or therapy. Please let us know what therapy your child is given, who does this, how often and when. |
 | Physical environment and specialist resources: your child needs a high level of support with physical adaptations and adjustments. Please let us know what specialist equipment or resources are used. |
Top tip when applying
Please provide as much information as you can on your application form, about the support your child needs, or receives. If we don’t have enough information, it can take us longer to decide on a grant.
If your child is in local authority care
Please note that Family Fund is not able to provide grants for children or young people in local authority care. This does not include children who are classified as a ‘Child in Need’ under Section 17 of the Children’s Act 1989 (England and Wales), and Section 23 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, and Section 17 of The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.