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Surviving Winter

The Surviving Winter Fund offers financial support to the people most at risk in Cornwall, helping them to stay warm, active and healthy.

These funds can be accessed through a wide range of referral agencies throughout the county and are to help households genuinely in need of support. This year the Surviving Winter Fund has been supported by Household Support Funding to reach even more vulnerable households.

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Requirements Timeline Funded projects Apply Now

Grant Categories:

  • Open
  • Crisis funding
  • Fuel poverty / financial hardship
  • Grants for individuals
Grant open: 25/09/2025
Applications by: 01/03/2026
Decision date: Rolling
Type: Core & project costs
Grant value: Up to £5,000 per group

Grant requirements

To apply for a grant your organisation must meet the general Eligibility criteria. In addition to this, you must also meet the specific criteria of the grant listed below:

Who can apply:

Third party organisations can include but are not limited to:
  • Registered charities and voluntary organisations
  • Food banks

What it will support:

The types of support that can be offered:
  • Cash awards
  • Vouchers
  • Tangible items (i.e. clothing or household items)
  • Eligible spend includes:
  • Food – support with food whether directly or through vouchers or cash
  • Energy and water – support with energy costs for any form of fuel used for domestic heating, cooking or lighting. Support with water bills
  • Essentials linked to energy and water . For example insulation or energy efficient items which reduce bills, the purchase of equipment such as fridges, freezers, ovens, slow cookers or costs associated with obtaining these essentials such as delivery and installation.
  • Wider essentials – including, but not limited to, other bills including broadband or phone bills, clothing, sanitary and hygiene products and essential transport-related costs such as repairing a car, buying a bicycle or paying for fuel. This list is not exhaustive.
  • Housing costs – in exceptional cases of genuine emergency where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need, the fund can support housing costs.
  • Administrative costs – this includes reasonable costs incurred administering the scheme of up to 10% of the amount requested. For example: staff costs, advertising to raise awareness of the scheme, web page design, printing application forms, small IT changes.
Organisations can apply for between £500 and £5,000 depending on capacity. They then distribute funds at their discretion to people most at risk, to help them stay well and warm during the winter months. These are normally people who already use the organisation’s service and are known to them.
We ask that small amounts of money, usually £50 to a maximum of:
  • £175 for households without children,
  • £250 for households with up to 3 children and
  • £300 for households with four or more children
In exceptional circumstances the Foundation’s Advisory Panel can be asked to consider a specific request for a larger grant. An organisation can also apply for a top-up grant once its initial fund is used up and reporting has been provided to CCF (please see below for the reporting requirements).

We ask each organisation to complete a summary sheet when funds are distributed to households, this will be included in your outcome email and will form evidence of the grant spend. We will also send you an online monitoring form to complete where you will be able to attach the summary sheet. Both documents form part of the reporting requirements and need to be completed.

The above needs to have been completed before requesting a top-up.

As part of the Household Support funding, we are asked to capture certain information for Cornwall Council. So please let us know a breakdown of your estimated costs for food, energy and water, essentials linked to energy, wider essentials and housing costs separately for vulnerable households with children, households with pensioners, disabled people and any other vulnerable households. We would also like you to identify how will you be offering this support i.e. through cash, vouchers, tangible items and/or other means.

More information and examples of reporting have been outlined in the Surviving Winter Fund Guidelines.

Eligible spend does not include:
  • Advice services such as debt advice
  • Mortgage costs

The Cornwall Worrying About Money? leaflet is a simple resource for people facing financial crisis and those supporting them. It helps to quickly see available advice and support options and which agencies are best placed to help.

Citizens Advice Cornwall can also offer a wide range of support including debt and benefit advice. Call 0800 144 88 48, 10am – 4pm Mon-Fri.

Follow the links below for the information and advice currently available for anyone at risk of or experiencing financial hardship.

Crisis and Care awards
Council tax support
Discretionary housing payments
Community Energy Plus | Independent Energy Experts
Better Off Calculator

Surviving Winter is an annual campaign supported by a wide range of CCF donors. We also receive a donation from the Household Support Fund, from Cornwall Council enabling us to reach even more vulnerable households.

Ready to apply?

If you meet the eligibility criteria and are ready to submit an application, apply at the bottom of this page.

Apply now

Not sure where to start?

If this is your first time applying to us start by reading the Application Process & Guidance. Here you can find useful information and resources to guide you through the application process.

If you’d like to speak to our Outreach Officer you can find contact details at the bottom of this page.

Key dates & decisions

Below are the key dates to note for this grant.
Application open: 25th September 2025
Application deadline: 1st March 2026
Panel discussion: Reviewed on a rolling basis
Grant decisions: Reviewed on a rolling basis
Estimated deposit: Within one week

Deposit dates can be vary, however grants are typically paid within 10 days of the panel decision.

Grants FAQ

You might have some questions about the application process, check our grants FAQ for answers to common questions.

Start an application

Before starting an application, check your organisation is eligible, and that have your supporting documents ready.

Accessible application submissions

If you have additional needs and would like support completing your application, please contact us on 01566 779333 or email us at Grants@cornwallfoundation.com

Apply now:

You’ve checked our criteria, found the right grant for you and have all your documents ready so let’s start your application.

Apply now

If you've applied before

You’ve found the right grant so let’s get your application in. When you log into your account you’ll find that key documents are saved along with lots of information you’ve already provided.

Get support applying today

If you aren’t sure if one of our grants is right for you, you can contact our Community Outreach Officer. Shannon can answer your questions and guide you through the process. Book a Grant Support Call, or reach out using the details below.

Lucy DeGlanville

Grants Officer

lucy.deglanville@cornwallfoundation.com

01566 779333