Edinburgh Trust

The Edinburgh Trust could help in several ways:

• Providing  a one-off grant to meet an identified need
• Completing a welfare benefits check to ensure someone is receiving all they are entitled to
• Signposting to other sources of support.

We’ve helped thousands of people across the City of Edinburgh. Many people come to us after having had a difficult time in life such as unemployment, physical or mental illness or other problems.

The grants we give can be used to buy household items such as cookers, washing machines, beds, fridges and carpets. We can also help people meet their essential living and travelling costs and pay bankruptcy fees.

Exclusions

There are some things we can’t help with. These include:

• Private medical and dental costs
• Prescription glasses
• University or school fees
• Legal fees
• Loans
• Business start-up costs or loans
• Personal debts
• Funding for full time students.

Applicants must:

• Live in Edinburgh (within the boundaries of the City of Edinburgh Council local authority area)
• Have a low (or no) amount of accessible household savings
• Receive means-tested welfare benefits or earnings that result in an annual household income that is below £16,000.

Funding may also be available to applicants from our newly established Edinburgh Trust Response Fund. This Fund is for people who have experienced a significant life event in the past 12 months, who are in need of some financial assistance as a result. There are specific questions relating to this on the Edinburgh Trust application form.

Applying for help from the Edinburgh Trust should be done by an approved organisation.

This includes:

• Registered charities
• Housing associations and statutory organisations providing social care, health care, or advice services.

Some of our approved organisations are:

• Access to Industry
• Carr Gomm
• CHAI
• Changeworks
• Citizens Advice Edinburgh
• Community Renewal
• Crisis
• Cyrenians
• Fresh Start
• Granton Information Centre
• MECOPP
• Port of Leith Housing Association
• Prospect Community Housing
• The Salvation Army
• Skills Development Scotland
• Start Scotland
• Streetwork
• Vocal
• Ypeople
• Your Home/ Sacro

The application can be made by a:

• Support worker
• Social worker
• Welfare adviser
• Debt adviser
• Health visitor
• Housing officer
• Anyone carrying out a similar role to the above, within an organisation.

If you are an intermediary who is registered with Turn2us, you can make a direct online application to the Edinburgh Trust when you are logged into your intermediary account.

If you’d like to discuss an application first to check eligibility, or would like to find out more about registering as an intermediary, please contact us on the details below.

Contact us at email: edinburgh@turn2us.org.uk or phone: 0131 243 2796.