The view from… ACO

Brought to you by:

We continue to see a direction of travel for many ACO charities (particularly occupational/benevolent funds) in terms of transition from primarily grantmaking (financial) providers to delivering a broader platform of financial and wellbeing support services designed to provide a more holistic, longer-term approach to meeting the needs of their respective beneficiaries. 

This means, in practice, that in addition to traditional methods of financial support (such as white goods, appliances, furniture and home adaptations) charities are increasingly introducing a range of wellbeing support services that can range from mental health, counselling and sleep management through to career counselling/retraining, gambling and addiction, and neurodiversity support.  

It might be assumed that the reported 14% increase in grantmaking spend by ACO members over the last reporting period reflects increasing application volumes across the board. However, a number of grantmakers still surprisingly report challenges with either static/reduced grant applications. One of the primary issues is often the struggle to build awareness, particularly for charities with a limited audience/beneficiary pool or lack of marketing resources and a low profile amongst referral agencies at a national and local level.

Caba Case study

Growing demand for caba’s support

Caba, the charity for Chartered Accountants and ACO member, share a snapshot of 2025.

Over the past three years, caba has seen a steady rise in demand for financial support, particularly across housing, healthcare, and employment-related needs. Interestingly, though, they are seeing a decline in requests for respite care and home adaptations, which contrasts with broader public discourse.

Housing pressures

The ongoing housing crisis is clearly reflected in the support we provide. By mid-2025, we’ve already matched our total 2024 spending on housing costs, with six months still to go. Support for moving costs is also rising, and we’re on track to spend 20% more in 2025 than we did last year.

However, while demand grows, the availability of affordable housing continues to shrink, making it increasingly difficult to help beneficiaries achieve financial stability.

We’re also seeing more people needing help to maintain their homes. The cost-of-living crisis means that even those with housing are struggling to keep their homes in livable condition. So far in 2025, we’ve already spent 68% of our total 2024 expenditure on this type of support.

Energy and essential bills 

Requests for help with priority household bills are also rising. In particular, support for energy costs is nearing 2024 levels—just £11,000 shy of last year’s total. This follows a 420% increase in 2024 compared to 2023, partly driven by the introduction of means testing for the Winter Fuel Payment.

Social care strain

The challenges in the social care system are also impacting our community. In 2024, we saw:

• A 231% increase in support for in-home care.
• A 113% increase in support for care home fees.

Interestingly, we’ve seen a decline in requests for respite care and home adaptations, which contrasts with broader public discourse. We’re actively exploring why this is and how to better reach those in need.

Healthcare gaps

With NHS waiting lists growing and access to services like dentistry becoming more limited, caba has stepped in where possible. In 2024, we saw a 48% increase in spending on physical health support compared to 2023.

Employment and professional support

Maintaining employment is critical for our beneficiaries, especially as they must retain ICAEW membership to work. In 2025, we’ve already spent:

• 33% more than in 2024
• 17% more than in 2023
on helping beneficiaries cover professional membership fees.

This increase underscores the financial strain many are under, even as they strive to remain in work and meet essential costs. As we move through 2025, the growing demand for support across housing, healthcare, social care, and employment paints a stark picture of the financial pressures facing our community. The data highlights not only the scale of need but also the urgency for sustainable, long-term solutions. While caba continues to adapt and respond, the rising costs and shrinking availability of essential services underscore the importance of collaboration, innovation, and advocacy. We remain committed to standing alongside our beneficiaries—ensuring they are not only supported in times of crisis but also empowered to build lasting financial resilience.

This is where online resources such as Lightning Reach’s online portal and Turn2us’ grant search tool play such an important role in helping individuals/advisory agencies identify potential sources of support and help provide an effective vehicle for smaller/niche grantmakers to reach wider geographical audiences.  

At the risk of cliché, technology continues to impact and advance grantmaking activity in our segment of the sector. At every stage of the process – from application to analysis, and due diligence to delivery, and then to evaluation, we are seeing how the introduction and application of technology – including AI – is enabling charities to benefit from more effective operating models.

At one end of the scale, we see grantmakers that have moved away from traditional paper-based applications towards either online or more integrated application processes (such as via the aforementioned Lightning Reach platform). At the analysis and due diligence stage we see the increasing sophistication of CRM’s/grant management software to enable more effective appraisal and decision making, and with the introduction of digital tools such as open banking and ID verification to provide a more user-friendly approach to financial diligence (as opposed to traditional hard copy bank statement review). At the end of the process, evaluation tools and impact analysis becomes more productive as the sophistication of data collection/data management tools increases. 

One of the key areas where the implementation of technology has played an important –  but perhaps unheralded – role is in helping to reduce the issue of stigma, which has often been a barrier to applications of support amongst certain charities (for instance amongst occupational funds/sectoral bodies). However, the introduction of third party application platforms, married with the increasing number of support services that can be accessed online, has helped support and reinforce the perception of confidentiality amongst applicants.

Where the introduction of AI will lead is clearly an ongoing dynamic debate. For ACO members, it potentially presents a range of opportunities to evolve their operating model, but it is perhaps not without cost – particularly the potential to support fraudulent application activity – so it is clear that, as with the wider charity sector – the advice would be to proceed with caution.

We’re continuing to develop and evolve UKGrantmaking with each annual edition, so please do share your feedback and ideas for future development, and sign up to 360Giving’s newsletter for updates.