Who can the Benevolent Fund help?

In order to be eligible applicants must:

• Be a Society of Radiographers member (includes student members), former member or financial dependant of a member or former member; and
• Have capital or savings (excluding your residence) no higher than the Department for Work and Pensions limit (currently £16,000).

When can we help?

We support eligible applicants who are undergoing financial hardship through redundancy, unemployment, illness, bereavement, disability or accident for example.

All applicants must provide evidence that they are in receipt of (or have applied for) their full entitlement to statutory benefits before the provision of financial assistance can be considered. Applicants under the retirement age not working or seeking work must produce verification of their inability to work. In certain circumstances, the trustees may seek a supporting statement from a relevant source e.g. local SoR representative or employer.

The Benevolent Fund is a charity governed by the Charity Commission and must operate within certain rules. The Benevolent Fund cannot support or replace diminished income on a long term basis. Furthermore, income assistance cannot be given where this would affect an applicant’s entitlement to state benefits.

If you have accrued large debts, but not had an accident or been sick, bereaved or unemployed, the Benevolent Fund will not normally be able to help you. The Benevolent Fund does not have access to trained counsellors or debt experts. However, try contacting one of the organisations listed on our debt advice page. They can provide confidential, practical help and support you through stressful and difficult times. If you have large debts, the trustees recommend that you obtain expert, free, impartial debt advice immediately and then if you still need our help, submit an application to the Benevolent Fund.

What type of help can we give?

The Benevolent Fund normally makes one-off grants for

• specific items that cannot be funded from another source e.g. equipment; or
• support with household bills for a specified period

There is no fixed limit on the level of awards made. However, trustees have to bear in mind the small size of the fund and the need to match grant expenditure to the resources available. Each application is judged on its merit. It depends on the nature of your financial need, your income and other circumstances.  It would help the trustees in considering the application if you could identify a specific item which would, should you own and use it, greatly alleviate your current situation.

Examples of specific items that may be fully or partially covered:

• Aids for temporary or permanent disability e.g. orthopaedic bed, electronic magnifier, stair lift, car adaptation
• Essential building repairs (after all other avenues have been pursued through local authorities e.g. Care and Repair scheme)
• Electrical/gas appliances
• Funeral costs
• Body repatriation (where adequate insurance is not in place)

Where a specific item is to be funded, the applicant must obtain three quotes.

We regret that the Benevolent Fund does not cover:

• Personal or business debts
• Legal costs
• Medical/ Dental Treatment
• Private school fees
• Home purchase
• Repayment of loans
• Private healthcare

How can you apply for help?

To apply for assistance please complete our application form.

You can download the document, complete the relevant fields and then save and return it to us via email at [email protected].

If you have any questions regarding the application please call our helpline on 0800 0778371 and speak with one of our advisors.

A completed form consists of:

• The application form (completed); and
• All relevant supporting documentation. 

Please note that your application must be fully completed. An incomplete form will result in delays in processing your request.

Hope 4U

We work in partnership with Hope 4U. Hope 4U has an experienced team delivering support to individuals and families nationwide. The range of services on offer have been developed to tackle the immediate problems individuals are facing, but also to help with the underlying issues.

By working in partnership with Hope 4U support can be offered for SoR members who may be experiencing a difficult time through illness. Accident or misfortune.

Target timescales

The trustees aim to provide timely financial assistance to eligible applicants. Trustees and administrators will endeavour to meet the following target timescales following an application for financial assistance.

Day 1* – Complete application for financial assistance received

By day 8* – Initial administrator tasks complete and application submitted to trustees for decision

By day 22 – Trustee decision made

By day 25* – Administrator communicates decision to applicant

By day 34* - If a grant is awarded, the administrator will liaise with the applicant to make a BACS payment directly to the supplier as far as possible. Direct payments to the applicant are generally not made. This is a requirement of the Society auditors and the Charity Commission to reduce the risk of fraud.

Please note the above timescales can only be met on receipt of a complete application. The biggest reason for delays is information missing from an application.

*The administrator will email the applicant at each step of the process to keep the applicant informed of progress.

SoR Benevolent Fund Privacy Statement

Although separate legal entities, the SoR Benevolent Fund relies wholly on the closed internal collaboration systems of The Society and College of Radiographers (SCoR) and therefore the Benevolent Fund Trustees agree to adopt the privacy and cybersecurity policies and procedures of the SCoR. There is also a recognition of the SoR Benevolent Fund’s ability to depart from SCoR policy if appropriate.