Cambridge Solidarity Fund provides financial support to Cambridge residents who are struggling financially for any reason. This money can be used for anything, from buying groceries to paying for prescriptions to paying rent, or whatever it is that you need right now.

You don’t have to explain why you need the money, or pay it back. We offer solidarity, not charity.

You can apply for funds of up to £40, every three months. If your application is accepted in a given month, you will not be able to apply again for the following two months. For example, if you receive a grant in August, you will not be able to apply in September or October, but you will be able to apply in November. This is to ensure that we can approve expenses for as many people as possible. We may have to change this policy depending on demand and how much money we have available.

To be eligible for funds, you need to live in Cambridge, in the CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4 or CB5 postcode areas, and be at least 16 years old. You do not need a fixed residential address to apply. There are two ways to receive money:

in your bank account, by providing us with proof of address;
in cash, by meeting us in person.

Please don't apply through OpenCollective - you can use our application form at CambridgeSolidarityFund.uk or text 07908 661634.

If you choose the cash option, we will need to meet you in person to verify that you live in the area.

You don’t need to explain your circumstances or meet any other criteria. Funds are allocated to applications in the order we receive the application (unless in exceptional circumstances).

Data we collect: we will store this data securely for our own records. We will only share it with the minimum number of people necessary to run the fund. We will destroy any data you give us immediately if you ask us to - you can do this by email or by telling us in person. We will also destroy it if we don’t hear from you for a period of 6 months.

If you choose the bank transfer option, we will submit some of your information to Open Collective to process your payment. This data will be covered by the privacy policy of Open Collective, who are based in the US, and as such data protection is covered by US law rather than UK and EU data laws. Their full privacy policy can be found here: https://opencollective.com/privacypolicy