Cost of Living Support | Arnold Clark Community Fund

What is Cost-of-Living Support?

With the rising cost of living, more people are facing financial hardship. Our Cost-of-Living Support is available to organisations helping those most affected, such as food banks, accommodation or poverty relief projects, and other eligible charities and community groups.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, organisations must:

Fall into one of these categories: food banks, toy banks, accommodation providers, poverty relief services, or organisations supporting people and communities most impacted by the cost-of-living crisis.
Be based in, or operate solely within, the UK.
Be located within 50 miles of an Arnold Clark branch.

Please note: We aim to distribute funding fairly across all areas. If a large number of organisations in your region have already received funding, this may affect the outcome of your application.

What to expect

Here’s what to expect from the application process:

Step one

Please read the eligibility criteria and the terms and conditions before applying.

Please note: If you're successful in this campaign, you will not be eligible for more funding until next year.

Step two

A representative from the charity or community group should make the application on behalf of the organisation.

Step three

Create an account on Grants Connect to apply.

You can find out how to create an account here.

Alternatively, you can speak directly to the Grants Connect help team.

Step four

Submit your application to the Arnold Clark Community Fund.

Step five

You will find out the outcome of your application via email within four weeks.

Step six

If you've been successful, the donation will be processed via a BACS payment to the business bank account details provided in your application.

Please allow 14 business days from receiving your successful email for the funds to be processed.

Step seven

Once the campaign has closed, we'll be in touch with a survey to find out how your organisation benefited from the funding.

If you wish to share any photos or impact reports, please send these here.

Who can apply?

A wide range of organisations can apply, and we especially encourage smaller voluntary and community groups who are supporting people most affected by the rising cost of living.

Please make sure you read and understand the eligibility criteria before submitting an application.

We welcome applications from:

UK-registered charities
Local community groups
Social enterprises
Community interest companies
Groups of organisations that are community or voluntary-led
Charitable incorporated organisations

We do not accept applications from:

Individuals
Sole traders
Organisations operating outside the UK, even if they are registered in the UK
Organisations generating profit for private distribution
Schools, nurseries, colleges (unless this immediately impacts the wider community)
Organisations that do not have a business bank account in their name

We’re unable to fund projects that involve:

Funding requests for private gain
Religious activity (unless this immediately impacts the wider community)
Benefiting an individual rather than the wider community
Political activities
Grant-giving organisations
Travel applications (except local community day trips)
Wages, loan repayments or debt repayments

Other ways we can help

Check out our other funding opportunities...

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