Benenden Charitable Trust - a helping hand when life takes an unexpected turn

Q: What does the Charity do?

The charity exists to improve health and wellbeing, and to relieve hardship and distress when life takes an unexpected turn. It achieves this by providing financial assistance to individuals.

Q: Does the Charity only help Benenden Health members?

Applicants must be a Member, former Member, or Nominee, of Benenden Health.

Q: Are applications means tested?

Yes. The Charity considers the full circumstances of the applicant and their household, and the background to their individual situation. To make a decision, evidence is needed of all income, savings and capital, and all outstanding liabilities for all members of the household. Assistance will not normally be provided where overall savings are more than £15,000.

Q: Why do I need to give details about the household?

This information is used to get a picture of your full circumstances and therefore your needs. Without it we cannot understand the full picture and so won’t be able to make a decision on what help we can provide.

Q: What financial information do I need to give?

We’ll need details and supporting documents such as full monthly bank statements and relevant bills. We look at all your income and expenditure, so this includes housing costs, utility bills and household expenditure. We’ll ask about savings or assets and we also need to know about any debts, arrears or outstanding bills. If you are asking for help with the cost of medical treatment, or the provision of other, non-medical, products or services (e.g. stair lifts, home repairs, etc.), we will need copies of formal estimates, quotes or invoices for these costs.

Q: What will you help with financially?

All applications are considered individually. We’ll look to see what the unexpected need is and where we can be of most help. If it’s an emergency, we may be able to offer a one-off payment to provide some breathing space to allow applicants to put other measures in place or seek further advice.

Q: Is there a limit to the amount I can apply for?

We can consider requests for up to £3,000. The maximum help we are able to agree towards general living costs is £500.

Q: What if I need more than the maximum amount available?

Where an applicant's needs are more than £1,500 (e.g. where high value medical treatment is needed), the Charity may seek to share costs with other relevant organisations. Applicants will also be encouraged to look at what alternative resources are available to them and where appropriate, to pursue alternative sources of funding (e.g. commercial loans, help from friends and family, or other charitable organisations). If there is still a shortfall the Charity may consider providing financial assistance towards that amount.

Q: Is there an appeals process?

No. The charity's decision on an application is final.

Q: Do you give advice on things like money issues, financial planning or debt?

We can’t provide advice, but may be able to signpost you to an organisation where you will be able to request advice in these areas.

How Benenden Charitable Trust could help you

If you're experiencing financial difficulties or distress because of a health condition or an unexpected change in circumstances, we may be able to help you financially.

What can we help with?

Who do we help?

How to apply

How long does it take?

Request more information

Support for stress and anxiety

If you’re a Benenden Health member, you can call the Mental Health Helpline and speak to an experienced therapist 24/7 for support in dealing with conditions like anxiety, depression, bereavement or relationship problems. If you’ve been a member for more than 6 months, this service expands to incorporate the assistance available under our full Mental Health Counselling Support.

There is also a wide range of other organisations that support people with stress and anxiety. Here are a few that we hope you'll find useful:

Debt advice and tools for money management

If you are experiencing financial difficulties, there are a number of organisations which offer free advice and a range of money management tools to help you deal with debt and get back in control.

StepChange Debt Charity

Debt Remedy Tool - this free and anonymous online tool will create a personal action plan, giving you the best ways to deal with your debt. It takes about 20 minutes to fill out, but you can stop and come back to it as many times as you wish.
National Debtline

A free and impartial debt advice service which provides an online advice tool to help get back in control of your finances. You can also phone, or email them, for confidential advice.
Money Advice Service

The Money Advice Service has lots of useful advice and tools. The Budget Planner is particularly helpful if you're just starting to tackle your debt.
Christians Against Poverty (CAP)

A national charity specialising in debt counselling for people in financial difficulty, including those in need of bankruptcy or insolvency. CAP also provides Job Clubs for those seeking employment and Release Groups for people looking to overcome addictions and dependencies.

State benefits

There are a number of online resources which can help you identify any State Benefits you may be entitled to

Help from other charities

As well as considering what help we can provide, we will often also be able to direct you to other organisations because of where you have worked, where you live - or another aspect of your individual circumstances.

If you give us your consent, where appropriate we can work directly with a number of other charities to source additional financial support for you.

Request more information

If you have any questions which have not been answered, please use our enquiry form and one of our team will be in touch soon.

Alternatively, you can call us on 0800 414 8450 (8am-4pm Mon-Fri).

The difference we make

Assistance from Benenden Charitable Trust can come in a wide range of forms depending on the needs of the individual. The following stories highlight a number of ways in which we have responded to the needs of Benenden Health members who have found themselves in difficult circumstances because of ill health.

We are extremely grateful to the individuals featured in these videos for sharing their story and helping to bring the work of Benenden Charitable Trust to life.

Tony's Story

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John's Story

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Geraldine's Story

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Sara's Story

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Rebecca's Story

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Alex's Story

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A brief history

We were formed at Benenden Health’s centenary conference in 2005 to help in situations where ill health results in financial hardship or distress.

Since then we have provided over £1.2 million in grants and have broadened the definition of when we can help to include non-health-related situations which might be impacting on someone’s wellbeing. These include relationship breakdown, redundancy and bereavement.

Our aims

Benenden Charitable Trust exists to assist people who find themselves in ill health or financial difficulty when life takes an unexpected turn. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and grants are made to help with a variety of needs including:

Medical treatment not available through the NHS or Benenden Health membership (we will give consideration to whether the treatment is NICE approved)
Specialist equipment and disability aids including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, stairlifts, CPAP machines
White goods, furniture and floor coverings
Home adaptations and essential household repairs
Short term care and assistance at home
Help with short term childcare costs
Respite care and short, recuperative breaks in the UK
General financial help if you are struggling with everyday living costs

Trustees and staff

The Charity is run by a small team of staff and overseen by a Board of Trustees.

Staff

Amanda Shaw – Charitable Trust Executive

Clinical Advisors

Jane Abbott - Hospital Director
Cheryl Lythgoe - Society Matron

Trustees

Paula Clark - Benenden Board of Directors Trustee (Chair)
Celia Hadfield – Branch Trustee
Vanessa Moore – Independent Trustee

Additional information

Support us

We rely on the generous donations and fundraising efforts of our supporters to enable us to provide financial assistance grants in times of hardship and distress. The Benenden Healthcare Society Limited ('Benenden Health') makes an annual donation to cover the running costs of Benenden Charitable Trust, so 100% of the money we receive from individual donations and fundraising go directly to help people in need.

Fundraising

Make a donation

Donations

Remember us in your will

Frequently asked questions

What does the Charity do?

Does the Charity only help Benenden Health members?

Are applications means tested?

Why do I need to give details about the household?

What financial information do I need to give?

What will you help with financially?

Is there a limit to the amount I can apply for?

What if I need more than the maximum amount available?

Is there an appeals process?

Do you give advice on things like money issues, financial planning or debt?

Does Benenden Charitable Trust work with other charities?

How do you use my information?

Where can I get help to complete the application form?

If I am enquiring on behalf of someone else do they need to sign the enquiry form?

Can you send an application form to my friend/relative?

Can you help with ongoing assistance over a period of time?

How long will it be before you contact me?

How long does it take to get a decision?