Our cash-first pilot for Heating and Eating Grants has shown the value of making cash the default option, while giving grantees the choice to receive support another way when cash isn’t suitable for them.
What is a cash-first approach?
Under the pilot, cash is offered as the default way to receive a Heating and Eating Grant. Grantees can instead choose vouchers or direct payments to providers where cash isn’t appropriate for their circumstances, isn’t advised for safety reasons, there is an issue with their bank account, or they simply don’t want to receive cash.
The aim is to give people meaningful choice while recognising that cash will usually be the most flexible and suitable option.
What did we learn?
The response from grantees was clear.
96.75% chose to receive their grant as cash.
A quarter of grantees completed our feedback survey, and 87% of respondents said receiving cash made “a great deal of difference” to them.
Feedback highlighted the dignity and flexibility that cash provided, allowing people to respond to their individual household needs rather than being limited to a particular voucher or payment arrangement.
As one grantee told us: “I am pleased that I have received cash because trusting my situation is very important to me.”
Trust and dignity
For Longleigh, the pilot reinforces an important principle of good grant-making: people receiving support are often best placed to decide what they need.
Household circumstances can vary considerably. A grant intended to help with essential costs may need to be used differently from one household to another.
A cash-first approach lets people respond to those circumstances themselves, rather than expecting their individual needs to fit around a particular model of support.
It also recognises the importance of dignity. Being trusted to make decisions about your own household can make a meaningful difference at a time when financial circumstances may already feel difficult or uncertain.
What did it mean for Longleigh?
The approach has also been straightforward for the Longleigh team to manage.
Cash payments have been quick to deliver and involved low levels of additional administration, making the process simple for both the team and grantees.
A simpler approach can work well when it’s built around trust and choice.
What’s next?
Following the success of the pilot, we intend to continue with a cash-first approach for Heating and Eating Grants.
We’re also looking at extending the approach to other grant strands, where giving grantees greater choice could make our support more flexible, dignified and responsive to individual circumstances.
For Longleigh, cash-first is about more than how a grant is paid. It’s about recognising that people understand their own lives and needs, and giving them the trust and choice to decide how support can work best for them.
