FAQ

Help the Homeless

Help the Homeless is a grant-giving trust, founded in 1975, to help homeless people off the streets and enable them to live healthy, independent lives. Funding for capital costs are available to small charitable organisations from across the UK.

Eligibility

Applications are welcome from organisations:

• Registered with the Charity Commission
• With annual turnover of less than £500,000
• Applying for funding towards the costs of capital projects. The Trust does not accept applications towards running/core costs, or for computers and IT equipment.
• Who have not applied for a Help the Homeless grant for two or more years.

Funding Amount

Grants of up to £5,000.

Closing Date

The upcoming quarterly deadlines are:

• 5pm on 20th December 2025
• 5pm on 20^th March 2026

More Information

Please visit the Help the Homeless website.

City Bridge Foundation’s Access to Justice Round One

Two core and flexible grant streams are available to “led by and for” organisations providing advice and holistic support for London’s most marginalised communities, prioritising service delivery that applies community insights and evidence to drive meaningful change.

The Foundation is looking to connect with organisations:

• Delivering free social welfare advice AND engaging in social action and systems change, or have the ambition to begin this work.
• Working for the benefit of Londoners in one or more of the following areas: housing, welfare benefits, debt, employment and immigration.

Eligibility

Voluntary and Community Organisations that:

• Are ‘led by and for’ organisation where 75% of Board of Trustees or Management Committee, AND at least 50% of senior staff, self-identify as being from the specific marginalised community or protected characteristic that the organisation serves
• Deliver work that benefits Londoners
• Hold a recognised advice quality assurance mark
• Pay at least a London Living Wage
• Provide at least one year's worth of audited or independently examined accounts
• Maintain an up-to-date safeguarding policy
• Have at least three directors or trustees on their board
• Deliver social welfare advice with casework
• Not be an information service or service where the primary offer is one-stop signposting

Funding amount

£6.5 million total across the two streams, distributed via 3‑Year Development Grants of £75,000 and 5‑Year Transformation Grants of £200,000, £300,000 or £450,000.

Closing date

Wednesday 27 January 2026 at 12.00pm

More information

Please visit the City Bridge Foundation | Access to Justice – Round One webpage for more information, a pre-application webinar, and to apply.

The Esmée Fairbairn - Communities and Collections Fund

The Communities and Collections Fund offers core grants to single museum organisations for strategic development of their inclusive collections work; and partnership project grants for museums and community organisations working equitably with collections to achieve shared aims for inclusion.

Eligibility

Museums, and community organisations working in partnership with museums.

Funding amount

Not specified.

Closing date

The next deadline is 21 January 2026.

More information

Visit the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund - Museums Association webpage for more information.

The Rose Foundation

Funding for refurbishment projects of less than £200,000, including general refurbishments or a specific scheme, repairs, creating disabled access, or fulfilling Health and Safety requirements or fire protection.

Eligibility

Registered charities and exempt bodies in London.

Funding amount

Grants between £5,000 and £10,000.

Closing date

31 March 2026

More information

Please visit The Rose Foundation website for more information.

Motability Foundation – Organisation Grants

The Motability Foundation supports organisations which help disabled people to make journeys. It makes grants to organisations providing services for disabled people, or working to make transport more accessible.

Eligibility

Eight grants are currently open to applications. Visit each grant theme webpage for details about eligibility and restrictions.

Funding amount

Grants starting from £50,000 are available, for projects up to three years.

Closing date

Various upcoming closing dates, depending on the grant theme.

More information

For more information, please visit the Organisation grants | Motability Foundation webpage.

Esmée Fairbairn - A Fairer Future

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation aims to improve our natural world, secure a fairer future and strengthen the bonds in communities in the UK. It supports people and organisations who are doing everything they can to bring about the change the Foundation wants to see.

The Foundation’s grant funding is focussed on work that will deliver long-term impact and create change for the future. This means it makes longer-term grants to organisations, rather than short-term or small-scale grants.

The Foundation’s  current priorities under “A Fairer Future” are:

• Arts and creativity making change
• Children and young people's rights
• Racial justice
• Gender justice
• Migrant justice.

Eligibility

Organisations with an annual turnover of more than £100,000.

Funding Amount

Grants valued from £30,000 (no maximum) are available for core or project costs, including staff salaries and overheads. Unrestricted funding for charities is available. The majority of grants are for three to five years.

Closing Date

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

More Information

Please visit A Fairer Future priorities | Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for more information.

Directory of Social Change - Online courses

Directory of Social Change hosts a mix of free and low-cost online courses and sessions covering topics from Legal Compliance to Organisational Cultures, supporting leaders and Board members to provide clear, confident governance.

Dates

Various

Delivery method

Online

More information

For further details and registration information, please visit the Directory of Social Change webpage and register for sessions.

NCVO Governance help and guidance

NCVO provides a range of practical resources and guidance to support charity leaders to effectively achieve and maintain good governance.

More information

Visit the NCVO Governance webpage for more information

Eastside People’s Trustee Hub

Eastside people provides a range of resources, events, blogs and top tips for charity and not-for-profit trustees, as well as information about the Festival of Trusteeship.

More information

Visit the Trustee Hub for more information.

Superhighways free digital, data and tech skills training

Superhighways offers a range of free training sessions to support small voluntary and community organisations to strengthen their use of tech, data and digital. Upcoming sessions cover topics including digital tools for data collection & analysis, marketing & comms, budgeting, use of AI, demonstrating need, cybersecurity, data protection, and choosing software options.

They cover topics including

• digital tools for data collection and analysis
• marketing and comms
• budgeting
• use of AI
• demonstrating need
• cybersecurity
• data protection
• choosing software options.

Date

Various dates.

Delivery method

Online and on-demand options.

Information and registration

Visit the Digital, data and tech skills training - Superhighways webpage for information and bookings.

Cyber Security for small organisations

The National Cyber Security Centre offers cybersecurity training for small businesses. It covers data security, password creation and device protection. This helps businesses build better cyber resilience.

Date

On demand

Delivery method

Online

For further details and registration information, please visit the NCSC training webpage.

Who we are and what we do

The Electoral Services Section is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. For the purpose of the 2018 General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Controller is (depending on the service) either the Electoral Registration Officer (for registration matters), or the Returning Officer (for election matters) based at the Town Hall, 160 Whitechapel Rd, London E1 1BJ

When you contact the Electoral Services Team, we are likely to ask you for certain personal information in order to be able to assist with your enquiry. Some of this information will need to be recorded and stored on our systems. This Privacy Notice aims to explain:

1. the different kinds of personal data we process
2. how we use your data
3. how we store your data
4. why we process your data
5. when and why we share your information
6. the legal grounds for processing your information.

Everyone working for Electoral Services has a legal duty to keep and process information about you in accordance with the law.

This notice explains why we ask for your personal information, how that information will be used and how you can access your records.

We process your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK privacy legislation and if you have any concerns or questions the Council’s Data Protection Officer can be contacted on DPO@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

The laws that govern the collection and use of this data

The following is a list of all primary and secondary legislation relevant to the collection, processing and retention of personal data:

• Local Government Act 1972
• Representation of the People Act 1983
• Electoral Administration Act 2006
• Electoral Administration Act 2013
• Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001
• Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 and 2006
• Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No 2) 2006
• European Parliamentary Elections (Registration of Citizens of Accession States) Regulations 2003
• European Parliamentary Elections Regulations 2004
• Police (Scotland) Regulations 2004
• European Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Regulations 2009
• Local Elections (Principal Areas) Rules 2006
• Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007
• Greater London Authority Elections Rules 2007
• The Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011
• The Local Elections (Principal Areas) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Rules 2011
• Greater London Authority Elections (Amendment) Rules 2012
• Neighbourhood Planning (Referendums) Regulations 2012
• Elections Act 2022

Why we need your information and how we use it

We use information about citizens, electors and voters to enable us to carry out specific functions for which we are responsible and to provide you with a statutory service.

We keep records about potential and actual electors, voters, citizens, candidates and their agents, staff employed at an election and the people we need to pay. These may be written down (manual records) or kept on a computer (electronic records).

What type of information is collected from you

The information we collect and process may include:

1. basic details about you, for example, name, address, date of birth and nationality
2. unique identifiers (such as your NI number),
3. scanned application forms & dates of any letters of correspondence
4. notes about any relevant circumstances that you have told us
5. details and records about the service you have received
6. your previous or any redirected address
7. the other occupants in your home
8. if you are over 76 or under 16/17
9. whether you have chosen to opt out of the Open version of the Register.

Who your information may be shared with (internally and externally)

This will include:

1. contracted printers to print polling cards, postal packs & other electoral material
2. to registered political parties, elected representatives, candidates, agents and other permitted participants who are able to use it for electoral purposes only
3. credit reference agencies, the British Library, UK Statistics Authority, the Electoral Commission and other statutory recipients of the Electoral Register
4. details of whether you have voted (but not how you have voted) to those who are entitled in law to receive it after an election
5. where the health and safety of others is at risk
6. when the law requires us to pass on information under special circumstances,
7. crime prevention or the detection of fraud as part of the National Fraud Initiative
8. the police (article 6(1)(e) General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)). This is necessary and proportionate to fulfil the Returning Officer’s statutory functions of safely and properly conducting an election.

How long we keep your information (retention period)

In order to provide you with this service, we rely on our legal obligations. The Electoral Registration Officer & Returning Officer are independent statutory post holders and are obliged to process your personal data in relation to preparing for and conducting Elections.

Your details will be kept and updated in accordance with our legal obligations and in line with statutory retention periods.
Anyone who receives information from us has a legal duty to keep it confidential.
We are required by law to report certain information to appropriate authorities – for example:

• where a formal court order has been issued.
• to law enforcement agencies for the prevention or detection of a crime
• to the Jury Central Summoning Bureau indicating those persons who are aged 76 or over and are no longer eligible for jury service.

Partner organisations

The process of checking citizens’ personal identifiers to ensure eligibility for inclusion in the Electoral Register, is controlled by the Cabinet Office via the Governments Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service.

The process includes:

• The Department for Work and Pensions who use data provided to verify the identity of new applicants
• The Cabinet Office will inform the old local authority of people who have moved area

Information will be processed within the European Economic Area (EEA) and will not be shared with overseas recipients.

If your details are in the Open version of the Electoral Register, your name and address can be sold to third parties who may use it for any purpose. You can opt out of this version at any time and are given the opportunity when you apply to register to vote and annually as part of the Canvass of all households.

To verify your identity, when you apply to be registered to vote the data you provide will be processed by the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service managed by the Cabinet Office. As part of this process your data will be shared with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Cabinet Office suppliers that are data processors for the Individual Electoral Registration Digital Service.

Find more information on the Register to vote website.

How we protect your Information

We will not transfer your personal data outside the EU without your consent.

We have implemented generally accepted standards of technology and operational security in order to protect personal data from loss, misuse, or unauthorised alteration or destruction.  

Please note that where you are transmitting information to us over the internet this can never be guaranteed to be 100 per cent secure.  

For any payments which we take from you online we will use a recognised online secure payment system.

We will notify you promptly in the event of any breach of your personal data which might expose you to serious risk. 

Your rights

You have rights under the Data Protection Legislations:

• to access your personal data
• to be provided with information about how your personal data is processed
• to have your personal data corrected
• to have your personal data erased in certain circumstances
• to object to or restrict how your personal data is processed
• to have your personal data transferred to yourself or to another business in certain circumstances.
• You have the right to be told if we have made a mistake whilst processing your data and we will self-report breaches to the Commissioner.

How you can access, update or correct your information

The Data Protection Legislation allows you to find out what information is held about you, on paper and computer records. This is known as ‘right of subject access’ and applies to your Electoral Services records along with all other personal records.

If you wish to see a copy of your records you should contact the Data Protection officer. You are entitled to receive a copy of your records free of charge, within a month.

In certain circumstances access to your records may be limited, for example, if the records you have asked for contain information relating to another person.

The accuracy of your information is important to us to be able to provide relevant services more quickly. We are working to make our record keeping more efficient. In the meantime, if you change your address or email address, or if any of your circumstances change or any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date please email us or write to us at:

Electoral Services
Tower Hamlets Town Hall
160 Whitechapel Rd
London
E1 1BJ

Tel: 020 7364 5000

If you would like to know more about how we use your information, or if for any reason you do not wish to have your information used in any of the ways described, please tell us by contacting our Data Protection Officer:

The Data Protection Officer
Complaints and Information Team
Tower Hamlets Council
160 Whitechapel Rd
London
E1 1BJ

Tel: 020 7364 5000
Email: DPO@towerhamlets.gov.uk

You can obtain further information about GDPR from the Information Commissioner and can also contact them if you have any complaints that you wish to make:

Information Commissioner’s Office
Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 0303 123 1113
ico.org.uk