It is estimated that by 2030, the number of people in the UK living with dementia will be 1.1 million (Alzheimer’s Research UK, 2023). There are a number of inequalities in care for dementia, with key factors including local service provision, ethnicity, whether your care is self-funded or paid for by local authorities, and whether you are diagnosed earlier or later in the illness.
Research suggests that having close ties to friends and family, participating in meaningful social activities may help people maintain their thinking skills in later life, and slow down cognitive decline.
The MCF are particularly interested in targeted interventions such as carers support and social groups, Maintenance Cognitive Simulation Therapy, or other interventions working to achieve outcomes such as the following:
- Improved ability of carers to meet the needs of people with dementia (i.e. resources, knowledge, skills)
- Reducing loneliness, isolation and creating social connection
- Improvements to physical health and cognitive function
- Better access to support services
- Increased independence and influence over their own lives and treatment
As part of our commitment to being an evidence-led funder we will consider funding the evaluation costs of projects, particularly when it is a new project and the charity will then be able to use the evaluation to support its future funding proposition.
Grant Programmes
SMALL GRANT
These grants are for smaller charities whose annual income is between £25,000 and £500,000.
Small grants are unrestricted and do not have to be used on a specific purpose, although we do ask grant recipients to report on how they used the funding.
Small grants range from £1,000 – £5,000 per year, for up to three years.
The total amount of the grant requested must not exceed 20 per cent of the total income of the charity, averaged over the past two years.
LARGE GRANT
These grants are for larger charities whose annual income is between £500,000 and £5m.
Large grants are restricted for specific projects with defined goals and budgets, and may be spent on, for example, salaries, equipment, training, monitoring and administration.
Large grants usually range from £10,000 to £60,000 in total. This can be spread over one to three years.