Listening to our grantees

How can our individual grants best meet the needs of the people we support? Find out what we learned when we asked 13 people who received one of our fuel grants.

“I wanted to say how appreciated and blessed we are in this borough. So much help is offered.”

“I enjoyed learning about various options that are available, like free meals, fuel support and benefits.”

This is just some of the feedback we received from the 13 people who took part in our discussion group in March. Participants had received one of our individual grants and all had benefitted from a fuel grant.

We wanted to better understand the impact our grants had on people’s lives and what support would be most beneficial in future. This forms part of our wider work to involve people with lived experience in shaping what we fund and how we work on an ongoing basis.

Due to increasing demand, changes have already been made to some areas of our funding. For example, we have reduced our fuel grants by 10%. As a result, we wanted to reflect on whether we are offering the support people need most and if other areas should be prioritised.

What participants told us

Participants said our grants provided a strong sense of relief, reduced stress and improved stability. Many felt more able to manage financially, including paying bills and maintaining their homes, particularly with the rising cost of living. “Receiving the grant made me feel like a normal human being,” said one participant.

It was noticeable how knowledge of what support was available locally varied widely, but participants where very open and willing to share what information they did have.

There was strong agreement that the Hampton Fund should prioritise grants for essential and high-impact items that everyone needs and to support their wellbeing. This includes white goods, fuel/energy, food, travel and health- and school-related costs.

Items seen as less of a priority were typically those that can be funded by through other forms of support, like furniture or clothing.

The group agreed that what grant support is a priority for one person might be different for someone else. They felt that there could be some flexibility to fund other costs based on specific needs, wellbeing and if other funding is available.

A summary of the discussion group can be found here.