Support you can apply for through the Lightning Reach portal

The following organisations are Lightning Reach support partners, so you can apply to them directly within the Lightning Reach portal. 

  • Teaching Staff Trust - supporting people who have worked in the education sector for at least five years. 
  • Electrical Industries Charity - supporting people who have worked in the electrical or energy sectors, including their families.
  • ABTA LifeLine - supporting people who have worked in the travel industry with an ABTA Member, ABTA itself or other organisations engaged in the sale of ABTA products, including their dependents.
  • Racing Welfare - supporting people who work or who have worked in the thoroughbred racing and breeding industries, including their dependents.
  • Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund - supporting members of our RAF Family providing practical, emotional, and financial support.
  • Royal British Legion  - supporting members of the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, veterans and their families.
  • Lambeth Council - supporting Lambeth residents through Discretionary Housing Payments or Discretionary Council Tax Support Hardship Payments.
  • Royal Naval Benevolent Trust - supporting serving and former Royal Naval ratings and Royal Marines other ranks, as well as their partners, children and some others connected to them.
  • St Giles and St George Education Charity - helping to improve the educational opportunities of local children and young people from birth to 25 years old in parts of Westminster and Camden.
  • Naval Children's Charity - supporting children up to and including the age of 25 whose parent(s) serve or have served in the Naval Service.
  • PA Housing - providing a range of support for their residents.
  • NewstrAid Benevolent Fund - supporting people and their immediate dependants who are facing hardship and who have been employed in the sale or distribution of newspapers and magazines in the UK. 
  • Southern Housing - offering assistance for anyone living in a property managed by Southern Housing (including those previously managed by Optivo).
  • Charis - delivering the Park Homes Warm Home Discount scheme for residents living in park homes / static caravans / residential mobile homes.
  • Citizens Advice North & West Kent - helping those struggling with energy costs or needing energy advice.
  • SHINE - providing energy advice to Londoners and financial support to residents of Islington.


If you have applied to Ben, Buttle UK, or National Benevolent Charity directly for a grant, you may also be invited to connect your bank accounts via the Lightning Reach portal as part of your application. You may also complete ID checks through the Lightning Reach portal for any applications to Turn2us or its partners.


Support you can apply for directly with the provider

Lightning Reach also helps you find support from other organisations. We currently have around 2500 grants and other types of support around the UK that you can be matched to. We are continuing to grow the support available to cover different needs and circumstances.


Grants from charities

Lightning Reach helps you find which charitable grants you may be eligible for. Grants are money that doesn't need to be paid back. There are hundreds of charities that offer grants based on your circumstances, location, where you work (or have worked), or many other factors. We help you find the grants that will help you. 


Support offered by your local authority

You can use the portal to access help from your local authority. A variety of support is available including assistance with housing payments and council tax, support in emergencies and with resettlement, free school meals and funding for home adaptations. We currently include a range of local authority support schemes across England, Scotland and Wales, and have started work to include schemes in Northern Ireland.


Benefits and support offered by the Government

You can chose to complete a benefits check when you signup to the Lightning Reach portal. Through our partners at Inbest or Policy in Practice, we can help you find out what benefits you could be entitled to claim. We will also match you to support offered by Social Security Scotland and the Welsh Government.


Save money on your household bills 

If you are receiving benefits, you may be able to access social tariffs to help with the cost of your bills. Social tariffs are reduced rates for services such as your internet, phone and water that are only available to people in receipt of universal credit, jobseeker's allowance and other benefits. 


If you are behind or struggling with your energy or water bill payments, or need to use a lot of water for medical reasons or because you have a certain number of children, your water or energy company may have a scheme which can help you. This may reduce your monthly bill or help you with repaying any arrears. We include energy and water support schemes across England and Wales. 


Other support in your local areas

We can help you find local organisations that will help in a range of circumstances. This can include crisis support, home improvement schemes, grants, educational support, money advice, food banks and more.


Other support available

The Lightning Reach portal also includes support from some banks, money advice agencies and selected non-financial assistance.  

We are currently growing the additional support available on the Lightning Reach portal. If you don't get matched to a grant straight away, we suggest you come back at a later date and check your support matches. These will be updated continually as we add more support.