The Smallwood Trust has been helping women on low incomes since 1886, more than 130 years. Her Majesty The Queen has been our patron since 1953.
Our mission is to enable women to become financially resilient by equipping them with the skills they need to secure a confident financial future. We provide grants to individuals and organisations and work with selected partners to help women overcome financial adversity and to improve their social and emotional well-being.
The Smallwood Trust aims to maximise its impact through grant funding and partnership working in the following ways:
1. Direct funding and support for individuals
Grants for living expenses to help women overcome crises and where they are struggling to make ends meet. Later this year, the Trust will also introduce a telephone helpline to provide women with access to debt advice and welfare benefits information to complement the cash grants.
2. Funding for voluntary sector organisations
Grants to organisations for projects that are developing innovative ways to help women along the employment pathway. Over the past year we have funded 13 organisations, who together are supporting more than 1,000 women. One example of a project we have recently approved funding for, is a consortium of six organisations who are developing a city-wide initiative to enable 300 women to access employment, skills and confidence building opportunities.
3. Funding for policy and research
Grants to voluntary sector organisations who are undertaking practical policy initiatives leading to improved economic and social outcomes for women. Under this theme, we have awarded a grant to an initiative to enable women in the devolved regions of Greater Manchester and the Midlands to effectively make their voices heard and influence the decisions about public services that affect their lives.
