Stipends and Grants

Stipends for older people

Older people of state pension age, i.e. 66 years of age or above, living in the Ancient Parish of Rotherhithe for at least 5 years, with low income and low savings, and that are not property owners, may apply for an annual stipend of £200. The stipend may be used for general living expenses.

Please note that membership is not open to current members of St Olaves United Charity. 

The stipend guidelines and application form can be downloaded below along with a diversity monitoring form. For paper copies, contact the RCC Clerk on 020 7593 2000 or email: clerk@rotherhithecc.org.uk

If you require support to complete the application form, please contact Age UK Lewisham and Southwark's Safe and Independent Living (SAIL) service on  0207 358 4077 and select option 5.

Hardship Grants

We offer one-off hardship grants for adults living in the Ancient Parish of Rotherhithe that are experiencing financial hardship, with low incomes and no/low savings, to purchase essential household items such as a new bed or a cooker. Applications for a hardship grant must be by referral application from a recognised public or voluntary sector organisation (individuals cannot apply directly). Referrers may be eligible for a management fee if the application is successful.
The hardship grant referral guidelines and hardship grant application form can be downloaded below. For paper copies, contact the RCC Clerk on 020 7593 2000 or email: clerk@rotherhithecc.org.uk

Community grants to Organisations

Grants are available to constituted community groups, organisations, and charities for activities, services, events, and projects that benefit people in the Ancient Parish of Rotherhithe that are in need. We are particularly interested in initiatives in the area of benefit that support: 
  • Low-income residents and families, e.g. Cost-of-Living Support; food, clothing and similar provision; and warm space provision.
  • Children and younger people from low-income families, e.g. through free, creative, recreational and sports activities, clubs, camps and workshops; and skills development.
  • Older people living in isolation, e.g. activities supporting people living in sheltered housing, social housing and/or care homes; and
  • Community cohesion - festivals, celebrations, events and initiatives that bring residents from diverse backgrounds together and improve community cohesion.
Please contact the RCC Clerk, email: clerk@rotherhithecc.org.uk tel: 020 7593 2004 to discuss your proposal prior to application.  
The application form is via the Flexi-Grant online portal at the link below (using the Rotherhithe Consolidated online application form).

https://southwarkcharities.flexigrant.com/ 
The community grants to organisations guidelines are downloadable below, for reference, and these are also available on Flexi-Grant

Recent Grants to Organisations

Children and young people's activities

Roosters Boxing Club

Established in 2019, Roosters Boxing Club is a Community Interest Company that provides low-cost boxing and fitness training sessions to children and young people, and women, from Rotherhithe and the surrounding areas six days a week. The sessions are delivered from a Hall off Paradise Street, Rotherhithe. The grant is supporting the Club to provide new boxing gym equipment to expand its offer and to increase its membership. More:https://www.roostersboxingclub.co.uk


Ballers Academy

Ballers Academy delivers high quality football, sports and mentoring programmes for all ages. The grant supported the costs of weekly football sessions for children and young people aged 9 to 16 years at Dockland Settlements Rotherhithe 3G pitch. More: https://ballersacademy.co.uk



Time & Talents

Time and Talents is a long-established settlement and community centre in Rotherhithe, now based at two sites: The Old Mortuary, St Marychurch Street; and Surrey Quays Shopping Centre. The grant supported the charity's Holiday Hunger Club during the Summer 2023 half-term, for 45 local children that are in receipt of free school meals during term time. More: https://www.timeandtalents.org.uk

Tutors United

Tutors United delivers free after-school tuition in Maths and English to children from low-income families in community centres and online to increase educational attainment. The tuition is provided by trained university undergraduate students enabling them to build transferable skills ahead of graduation. The grant is supporting after-school Maths and English tuition to children aged 8 to 11 years from low-income families in Rotherhithe at the Rotherhithe Community Centre, Plough Way. More: https://tutorsunited.org

Collaborative Arts

Illuminate Bermondsey & Rotherhithe is a free annual festival for local residents, celebrating the histories of the Thames, the docks and migration culminating in a lantern procession. The grant supported Collaborative Arts C.I.C. with the costs of 6 lantern-making workshops at schools and community venues across Rotherhithe. 
More: https://illuminaterotherhithe.co.uk


Hawkstone Tenants & Residents Association

Hawkstone TRA represents tenants and residents living on the Hawkstone Estate, Rotherhithe, which comprises around 320 social housing properties. The grant contributed towards the cost of a fun day for Hawkstone Estate children and young people at nearby Southwark Park’s Sports and Athletics Centre.

Low-income residents and families

Citizens Advice Southwark

Citizens Advice Southwark provides free, confidential, independent and impartial advice to Southwark residents by phone, email, online and at drop-ins to its offices. With our funding, the charity has staged a number of ‘roadshows’ at community settings and TRA Halls in Rotherhithe and Surrey Docks, providing advice to local residents on benefits, debt, housing, food and energy costs, in collaboration with other local voluntary sector and statutory sector organisations. 

More: www.citizensadvicesouthwark.org.uk


Mads Do and Mend

Mads Do Mend C.I.C. was set up to teach people the skills to mend their clothing and textiles. The grant supported weekly clothes repair, sewing and mending workshops for local residents at Rotherhithe Community Centre, Plough Way. 

More: www.madsdoandmend.com

City Hope Church

City Hope is a church and community centre in South Bermondsey. It provides a number of services to Southwark residents, regardless of their background or faith, including a Wednesday foodbank, a Hope Tuesday Club for Southwark’s older residents, and debt advice and life skills (e.g. budgeting) surgeries run by Christians Against Poverty. The grant is supporting the costs of its weekly food bank provision, and Christmas hampers, for people living in the Ancient Parish of Rotherhithe.

More: https://cityhope.london

Community cohesion, festivals and events

Rotherhithe Festival

Rotherhithe Festival is an annual free community festival in King George's Fields, Moodkee Street, for local residents of Rotherhithe and beyond. The Festival provides free and fun activities for local families and children including fairground rides, community and charity stalls, live music, and entertainment.
More: https://rotherhithefestival.com

Restorative Justice For All

'RJ4All' is a Rotherhithe-based restorative justice institute that manages the Rotherhithe Community Centre on Plough Way. RJ4All aims to make SE16 a Restorative Justice postcode, to transfer power back to communities. The grant is supporting the costs of restorative justice circles, training sessions and speak up events for Rotherhithe residents and institutions to improve community cohesion locally. More: https://www.rj4all.info

Bermondsey Carnival

Now managed by Bermondsey Blue Business Improvement District (BID) Limited, The Bermondsey Carnival is an annual festival in Southwark Park attended by thousands of local residents and includes live music, activities and local charity and community stalls. More: www.bluebermondsey.co.uk


Older people's activities

Art in the Park

Art in the Park is a charity that delivers arts and environmental activities to Southwark residents from its Burgess Park base and through outreach at local venues. The grant supported the costs of arts and gardening activities for residents of Rose Court Care Home, Rotherhithe. Many of the residents are in their 80's and most are living with dementia. More: https://www.artinthepark.co.uk

Mayflower Tenants & Residents Association

Mayflower TRA represents around 700 residents living on social housing estates in Rotherhithe, SE16, and provides activities, services and events from the Mayflower Community Hall on Neptune Street by Southwark Park. Grants contributed to a Christmas party for older residents, and a community celebration (pictured) for local residents, including the nearby Hawkstone Estate, during the King’s Coronation weekend.

London Bubble

London Bubble is a charity and theatre company at Elephant Lane, Rotherhithe providing community theatre activities for children, young adults and older people. The grant supported the creation of a new theatrical production which was performed, by its older adults performance group, at sheltered housing venues in Rotherhithe.  Photo credit: John Stewart.

More: https://www.londonbubble.org.uk