Philanthropy discussions can focus on its role as risk capital or maximising its impact. But in these strategic conversations it is easy to lose sight of the fact that at its heart philanthropy is about individuals helping other individuals. We talk about ‘giving to charity’, but donations (especially core and unrestricted) pay staff or support volunteers who are the ones that put in the hours to ensure impact is delivered.
Giving money to help others has a long history. Mutual aid is part of many communities across the world, such as Chit Funds in India and Susu in the Caribbean. Giving ‘alms to the poor’ (an old term for giving charity), is core to the practice of many faiths such as Zakat for Muslims or tithing in Christianity. One of my early career roles was working at an advice centre where I would apply to charitable trusts for small grants to help individuals in crisis. These grants helped with all manner of things from clearing debts to providing school uniforms. But this isn’t the only way to give money to individuals.
Help through hard times
Firstly, the same approach I used in that previous role is still out there. Many organisations directly help individuals with essential costs. In the UK, the charity Turn 2 Us provides details of all the state benefits and grants available to those finding it hard to make ends meet. The Directory of Social Change (DSC) publishes The Guide To Grants for Individuals in Need. This is the same one I turned to in my advice centre role, but it is now in its 19th edition. It includes 1,800 grant-making charities giving almost £376 million in funds. In it you will find the benevolent funds that help musicians, teachers, ex-miners or those working with leather as well as small trusts set up to help people who live in their neighbourhood. Larger trusts and foundations can also help, such as Buttle UK which provides funding packages for vulnerable children and works with BBC Children in Need to provide emergency essentials like beds, washing machines and clothes. Community Foundations often also help individuals such as their Surviving Winter programme that helps older people to heat their homes.
Help with personal and career development
Other funding for individuals might focus on their development and career progression. The Scholarship Hub details the scholarships, bursaries and educational grants available for students. Some are quite niche such as Heritage Crafts which provides training bursaries to those wanting to develop their skills in shoemaking, stained glass conservation or saddlery. Others focus on a particular group of people or a place such as Helena Kennedy Foundation which provides financial support to enable students who face financial difficulties to progress to higher education. Or the Portal Trust which awards grants to young people from a low income or disadvantaged background who live in inner London.
Support for changemakers
Another way to help individuals is to back people with ambitions to do good things: the leaders, social entrepreneurs and change-makers. Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors1 classify funders who take this approach as ‘Talent Agencies’ who seek out change agents who they identify because of their potential. Examples include Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Ideas and Pioneers Fund [not currently open] which gave grants to individuals to explore their ideas for social change. For those funders looking to develop programmes for individuals, then the Co-operative Foundation produced a good report when they were scoping their Young Changemakers Fund, which gave grants to individual activists, campaigners, disrupters, co-operators, and social entrepreneurs. The report has details of 20 UK funding initiatives with different aims, models and approaches to risk.
Giving directly
Rather than applying to the various schemes, another option for individuals needing help is to appeal directly to others by using crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe, JustGiving, Crowdfunder. These platforms include individuals asking for help with medical treatment, vet bills, educational trips and funeral costs. They have grown – the latest UK Giving report showed over £682 m of the total £14 bn donated by the public in 2025 was through crowdfunding. These methods are particularly popular with millennials and Gen Z because of their directness and because they are driven by social media.
Universal Basic Income (UBI)
Perhaps the ultimate in giving directly to individuals is UBI. This is the idea that every citizen, regardless of need or situation, receives a flat rate payment to cover their basic needs. I say UBI is an idea because no country has yet adopted it in full because it is expensive. Critics say it will reduce the incentive to work and some strongly resist the idea of people getting something for nothing. Advocates argue UBI reduces poverty, inequality and improves people’s wellbeing. Supporting individuals at this scale is generally for governments – the Irish government has brought in a scheme for arts workers, announcing in Autumn 2025 that this will be permanent following a successful pilot which showed a rise in productivity. The role for private donations is in funding pilots, growing the movement, and supporting the research such as backing the UBI Labs Network, 40 citizen-led groups (the majority in the UK) exploring and advocating for UBI.
The role of philanthropists
Philanthropists looking to help individuals can add resources to any of these existing approaches:
Funding bursaries, investing in change-makers or activists, and giving through crowdfunding platforms.
Supporting charities offering small grants, cash or microloans.
Philanthropists (especially if interested in system change) could back UBI schemes.
We must also remember that the reasons people need direct financial help are many and varied. As well as giving money that ends up in the hands of individuals, it is also important for philanthropists to support charities that work to tackle the root causes that contribute to inequality and poverty.
For more on UBI see: https://www.jrf.org.uk/social-security/is-universal-basic-income-a-good-idea