Each year the Association invites members to showcase their almshouse projects and achievements by applying for one of our awards. With the outbreak of coronavirus at the beginning of 2020,  the Association had to put the Patron’s Award and Award for Excellence and Inspiration on hold but we are delighted to be able announce the winners of the 2019 Gardens and People Award.

The winners all highlighted the sense of community their gardening projects created and the beneficial impact on their residents’ physical and mental wellbeing.  These projects and spaces have no doubt brought great comfort to residents during this year’s lockdown.

Lady Lumley’s Almshouses, Thornton-le-dale, North Yorkshire – set up a tea and chatter group, which now has 20 regular attendees. For the past three years they have also held an open day and in 2019 the residents won a local award for their outstanding garden display.

Partis College, Bath, Somerset –  established a new vegetable garden in a neglected part of the grounds. They put in 10 raised beds to ensure it was accessible to all residents. A handyman provides some physical support but otherwise it has been the hard work of the residents that had yielded delicious, home grown vegetables.

The residents at Yardley Great Trust, Birmingham initiated a project to improve small areas of the scheme by planting flower beds. The project grew and more residents got involved, spending more time outdoors and enjoying BBQs together. The project has fostered a greater sense of community, as well as improving the residents’ physical and mental health.

St Joseph’s Homestead, Stratford-upon-Avon converted the resident’s private gardens into a communal garden, creating a community feeling and providing a relaxing place for residents to sit. Residents are able to tend to part of the garden and there has been a focus on wildlife with the introduction of a hedgehog highway, bird feeders and bee-friendly plants.

Guild Cottages at the Municipal Charities of Stratford-Upon-Avon has a communal garden but gives its residents the opportunity to tend to the areas close to their homes. For those residents whose gardening skills aren’t quite as developed, a professional gardener is available to give a helping hand.

Residents at The Day Foundation, Coddenham, Suffolk took part in a local open garden scheme to help raise money for the local church and The Stone Foundation. They ran a stall selling second hand gardening equipment, sunflower seedlings and plants. They also took part in the scarecrow competition! These activities brought residents together and new friendships were formed.

To see more of their wonderful garden displays and previous years award winners, please click here

We are now inviting applications for our
2020 Almshouse Association Awards.
Full details on how to apply can be accessed here.
Deadline for applications is 15th January 2021

Posted 26 October 2020

The Almshouse Association 75th Anniversary in 2021 – we want to celebrate your amazing work!

…

YOUR CELEBRATION PACK

The Almshouse Association is so proud to represent you, our valuable members.

You work tirelessly to provide support for those in need in your local community and this is what makes almshouses so valuable. It is clear that the spirit of almshouse communities is helping to alleviate the isolation that is so prevalent in our society today. You offer a strong sense of community and warmth that make it possible for beneficiaries to continue to live independently, often near to families.

As you may already be aware, 2021 sees The Almshouse Association celebrating our 75^th Anniversary year. We intend to showcase almshouses and their fundamental importance in the local community. We will be campaigning hard in Government and have just launched a PR campaign to get our message across to the press about how wonderful you are.

We are planning our own garden party and would love you to join us by thinking about organising your own event, on site, or at a community location near to you?  It would be fantastic for us all to join together and really make the most of this celebratory year to highlight your achievements.

Our Open Garden Month will be launched in the spring. Subject to Covid-19 restrictions, this might be a lovely time to welcome people to view your residents beautiful gardens or patios and flowerpot displays, to show how passionate residents are about their almshouses, and why they hold a special place in people’s hearts.

This 75^th Anniversary year will really allow us to capture the hearts of more local people to encourage further support for your charities and help spread the word about the key benefits of almshouses.

We have compiled a Celebration Pack that is full of useful hints and tips which will be available after the Christmas break.

To order your pack, please complete the order form by clicking here and return to us.  The pack is full of ideas and supporting material that will help make your day easier to organise. And remember, we are on hand to offer any further advice and support, where we can!

Thank you for joining us throughout what will be a wonderful year for the Almshouse Movement! We are so excited to be celebrating with you!

Posted 26 October 2020

Since March there has been an increase in cases of cybercrime and fraud among charities, with the Charity Commission receiving reports of 645 incident since March, amounting to £3.6m in total losses to charities.

Almshouse charities, regardless of size, are not immune and we are aware of at least one near miss that one of our members had recently.  

The Charity Commission is therefore running a Charity Fraud Awareness Week from 19-23 October 2020. This awareness raising week, run in conjunction with the Fraud Advisory Panel, has been put together to boost charity resilience to fraud and cybercrime.

Charities can access a range of free resources from the charity fraud awareness hub. Here you’ll find mini-tutorials, on-demand webinars, videos and factsheets to help you with fraud awareness. The Charity Commission has also put together some helpful guidance on protecting your charity from fraud nd what to do if you do fall victim to it.

For more information about Charity Fraud Awareness Week 2020 with links to various resources, please their website here

Posted 20 October 2020

After each Almshouse Association Board Meeting, the Key Decisions made at the most recent meeting are uploaded to the  ‘Latest News’ pages on our website for all registered member charities to access.

At the virtual Board Meeting held on 17th September 2020, the following Key Decisions were made:

1. The decision was carried by the Board to release £20,000 from the Grant budget and for full flexibility to be granted to CEO for discretionary distribution to charities in immediate crisis up to £3,000 per case. The pilot will be reviewed after 6 months.
   
2. The Board voted and unanimously agreed to release a further £5,000 (above the strategic budget) to enable the data collection and value for money research to commence.
   
3. The Board unanimously agreed with the recommendation made by the F&GP to increase the Grants budget from £250,000 to £350.000.

A record of all Key Decisions made at Board Meetings (from June 18 onwards) can be found in here.

Posted 14 October 2020

The Almshouse Association is enormously pleased to be able to confirm to our members that The Charity Commission has now publicly recognised our official definition of an almshouse and has added the definition to their Operation Guidance.

After over 2 years of meetings and deliberations, members feedback and rewrites, we consider this a major milestone as we look to grow and develop the almshouse movement. The definition now gives us greater authority to show the unique nature of almshouses, whilst being able to reference official recognition from a government body.  

It is important to receive this confirmation as we move forward with our discussions with local and national government, ensuring that our members are not hindered in their efforts to support their charities.

The official definition and description is:

An almshouse is a unit of residential accommodation (usually a house or flat) which belongs to a charity, is provided exclusively to meet the charity’s purposes (for example, the relief of financial need or infirmity) and is occupied or is available for occupation under a licence by a qualified beneficiary.

An almshouse charity is typically a charity which is established for purposes which are to be furthered by the provision of one or more almshouses.

An almshouse charity is usually a charity for the relief of financial hardship by the provision of housing and associated services or benefits which must (or is authorised to) provide its primary benefit by the grant of a licence to occupy the accommodation that it owns to its beneficiaries.

In addition, an almshouse charity is likely to have one or more of the following features:

a. The origin of the charity is a private gift for the relief of poverty;

b. The beneficiaries are required to pay a weekly maintenance contribution that must not be set at a level that would cause hardship;

c. The nature of the accommodation is such that the licence requires that beneficiaries must show particular consideration for the needs of other residents;

d. A significant proportion of the accommodation is permanent endowment;

e. The beneficial class or the geographical area from which it can be drawn is restricted.

The full document on almshouses on the Charity Commision website can be found here. (scroll down the index to almshouses)

Posted 1 October 2020

Almshouse Consortium Limited Press Release

There is great news in the housing world as the Government has announced details of the next Affordable Housing Programme, providing grants to providers of affordable housing, including Almshouse Charities. The new programme will support projects across England from 2021 – 2026.

In a statement by the Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick, plans were unveiled for a new affordable housing programme. This new grant funding is expected to deliver an additional 180,000 affordable homes.

Significantly, the Government announcement makes particular reference to almshouses which builds on the heightened recognition of the understanding and appreciation of the role and uniqueness of almshouses.

Whilst generally the funding is targeted at the construction of new homes, significantly for almshouses the government are offering grant for projects which involve remodelling existing properties.

One route to grant is through the Almshouse Consortium Ltd which has been in operation for 12 years enabling almshouse charities to access grants from Homes England. To date ACL has secured in excess of £20 Million grant funds for almshouses developing new build projects, remodelling or refurbishing existing Almshouses and works closely with The Almshouse Association in support of its aims.

The Almshouse Consortium Ltd holds preferred partner status with Homes England (the Government Agency) for the delivery of schemes under the affordable housing programmes and can help you access grant if you are thinking of bringing a project forward. 

Sean Stafford, Programme Manager at the Almshouse Consortium Ltd explains:

The new funding is very welcome. The scale of funding available is significant; the highest amount for the past few decades. There are clear routes which enable almshouses to access this funding for either building new homes or remodelling existing homes. It will not cover single investment items; say replacement of the heating system but it will contribute to many, many schemes.

Kathy Green, Programme Manager adds:

The Almshouse Consortium has been accessing such grants for 12 years now and has secured over £20Million of grant funding. We would encourage almshouses to contact us to discuss whether there is scope to attract grant to support their ambitions.

The Government will release a timescale for grant requests which for initial applications is likely to be the end of November 2020, although this is yet to be confirmed.

If you have a project which you are considering requesting grant support for would like to get in contact with ACL, their contact details have been listed below:

Sue Holden the Almshouse Consortium Administrator by email to acltabitha@gmail.com or on 07464 021046 

Sean Stafford on sean@saffercooper.com or 07714 255520.

Kathy Green on kathy.green.projects@gmail.com or 07940 590173

Posted 30 Sept 20