Our Financial Support
Actors’ Trust may be able to support actors and those in stage management who:
- Have a long-term, degenerative, or terminal illness or disability
- Are unable to work due to a short-term injury or health issue (note, we define ‘short-term’ as impacting an applicant for up to one year)
- In some circumstancesFor example, if the NHS waiting list is too long or the medical treatment you need is not available at your primary NHS service provider, we may be able to help with medical or health costs where the ability to work is being impacted.
- In some circumstancesFor example, if the NHS waiting list is too long or the medical treatment you need is not available at your primary NHS service provider, we may be able to help with therapy costs as well.
- Are currently homeless or are at imminent risk of homelessness
- Are of retirement age, unable to work and require support to maintain a good quality of life
- Need help with care home feesIn certain circumstances. Please contact us to discuss further.
- Whose career has been impacted by a recent bereavement, unexpected caring responsibilities, or another major, unexpected life event.
Who Can Apply
Actors and people in stage management with at least two professional credits in the past two years, an average of one professional credit per year since the start of their career, or ten professional credits or more over their career.
What do we mean by ‘Professional Credits’?
For actors: Professional credits refer to paid acting roles, for instance in theatre, TV, film and voiceover work (e.g. radio and video games). We can also consider lead roles in commercials. We do not consider extra, walk-on, or background work as professional credits. Where an actor plays one role over a period of more than one year, we will consider this as one credit per year. For instance, if you held the same role in a production for two years, this would count as two credits.
For stage management: Each production you’ve worked on in a paid capacity counts as one credit. Where someone in stage management works in one production over a period of more than one year, we will consider this as one credit per year. For instance, if you held the same position in a production for two years, this would count as two credits.
To be eligible for our support, you must:
Be aged 18 or older
Currently live in the UK
Have a UK bank account
Have less than £16,000 in household savings or under £23,250 if of pension age, or experiencing a long term health issue
What Can I Use the Money For?
Our financial support is intended to support you to meet essential expenses (for example food, utility bills and housing costs) while health issues and/or life events are preventing you from earning.
Many thanks to Actors' Trust for the invaluable support that keeps my hopes for work as an actor and a better future alive.”
Useful Resources
The acting, theatrical, and entertainment world is full of amazing organisations dedicated to supporting our community. Whether you need help with your career, mental health, retirement, housing, or something else entirely, there's likely a charity out there that can help.
If you want to find out about how our application process works you have come to the right place! On this page, we outline all the steps involved.
You can expect us to treat you with respect, listen to your needs, communicate clearly, and act with kindness and integrity, while ensuring your information is handled confidentially. In return, we ask that you treat our staff with respect, provide accurate information, and understand that while we strive to help, our capacity and response times may vary.
Please read carefully the following terms of use (Terms) for the www.actorsbenevolentfund.co.uk website (Site).
At the Actors' Benevolent Fund, we take your privacy seriously. We will always use your data responsibly and ethically.
Apply for our Grant
We understand that life as an actor or in stage management can be unpredictable, and sometimes, things don’t go as planned. If you can’t work for reasons beyond your control, or are facing other challenges, Actors’ Trust is here to help. Please fill out the form below to tell us your story, and let’s see how we can support you.
