£400,000 boost to help older Londoners in need
Howard Lake | 30 December 2025 | News
The City of London Corporation’s Emanuel Hospital charity has awarded £400,000 to Friends of the Elderly to fund grants for older Londoners facing poverty and hardship, over the next four years.
The Emanuel Hospital charity was founded in 1600 following a bequest by Lady Anne Dacre, daughter of Sir Richard Sackville, Elizabeth I’s treasurer of the exchequer, to build an almshouse at Tothill Fields, Westminster “for the relief of 20 aged people”. It came under the City Corporation’s control as corporate trustee in 1623, and today, alongside continuing to support 20 older people known as Lady Dacre Pensioners, distributes funding to organisations helping older Londoners in need.
The new grant follows over £345,000 given to Friends of the Elderly over the past four years, which has supported 773 older people across the capital. The funding covers essential costs such as household appliances, unexpected bills, food, clothing and energy, with grants awarded over the past year including £400 for a dishwasher for an 88-year-old woman in Newham with disabling arthritis, £1,000 towards funeral expenses for a 78-year-old woman in Wandsworth whose son had died suddenly, £600 for an iPad for a bedbound 81-year-old woman in Hammersmith & Fulham, and £368 for a new bed for a 68-year-old woman in Southwark undergoing cancer treatment who had been sleeping on the floor.
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Alderman Gregory Jones KC, chair of the City Corporation’s Emanuel Hospital Management Sub-Committee, said:
“Although the grants Friends of the Elderly make with our funding may be small, the impact on the lives of older people across London is huge, lasting and transformative.”
Rachel Hill, chief executive of Friends of the Elderly, which is marking its 120th anniversary this year, said:
“We are absolutely thrilled to have the continued support of the Emanuel Hospital charity, which has made a huge difference to hundreds of older people across London. Thanks to this funding, we know that every London pensioner who meets our criteria and comes to us asking for financial assistance, can receive a grant, which is incredible.”
Older people who may benefit from a grant can be referred to Friends of the Elderly by community centres, housing associations, advice organisations and other referral agents.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.