Free practical financial wellbeing resources

Are money worries affecting your mental wellbeing – you are not alone.

We understand how financial pressures can take a real toll on your mental health, relationships, and overall wellbeing. That’s why, in addition to our financial assistance services, we now offer free, practical financial wellbeing resources to help you build confidence, develop money management skills and navigate common financial challenges.

This includes a new workshop (developed in partnership with Rebel Finance School) and access to the Rebel Finance School course—covering topics such as budgeting, saving and managing financial pressures.

Find out more here

A holistic approach to financial wellbeing

We aim to empower individuals to improve their financial wellbeing. Our charity takes a holistic approach to support, considering all the relevant services that may help you. Through our partnership with Citizens Advice Manchester, we can provide quick referrals to specialist advisers for confidential advice on benefits and debt.

Help with benefits

Help with debt

Grants for students

Being a student means for many living on a limited budget and learning the life skills of money management.  Managing finances as a student can be challenging and despite best efforts you may be experiencing financial difficulty that is negatively impacting your performance and wellbeing. Students experiencing financial difficulty can apply for up to a maximum of £1,500 per academic year to help towards essential living expenses. Please see below for how we may be able to help you manage this part of your pharmacy journey

Who can apply?

You are eligible to apply for financial assistance if you meet the below criteria.

• Pharmacy Student – someone undertaking a GPhC accredited course in Great Britain leading to eligibility to enter accredited foundation training and register as a pharmacist.

Applicants must also:

• be enrolled full time and actively attending university
• be experiencing financial difficulties due to unforeseen circumstances that have arisen since starting their degree/OSPAP.

• have accessed their full student maintenance loan entitlement, where eligible or not be entitled to funding from Student Finance England or an equivalent body.
• have sought funding through their university student hardship scheme or other student assistance programme; and
• have support from an appropriate university representative, such as a student support adviser, welfare officer or personal tutor.

Who is not eligible?

Unfortunately, we cannot consider applications from:

• Students who have received a university offer letter but have not actively started the MPharm degree
• Students undertaking a foundation year.

What can the Essential Living Expenses grant be used for?

We may be able to help with:

• essential living expenses such as food, rent, utility bills and travel costs where there has been an unexpected loss of income
• unexpected one-off essential costs
• essential household appliances or appliance repairs
• disability-related equipment
• other unforeseen circumstances.

What can the Essential Living Expenses grants not be used for?

We do not generally provide support for:

• legal costs (including visa costs)
• tax arrears
• major household repairs/renovations (beyond remedying a particular issue to the fabric of the building) such as replacement windows, roofs, new bathrooms, or kitchens
• private healthcare

View our eligibility criteria

Do savings affect eligibility?

Applicants with household savings exceeding £6,000 (including cash savings, investments and second properties held by the applicant and, where applicable, their partner) over the previous 90 days are not eligible for this grant.

Do grants need to be paid back?

No. Grants awarded by Pharmacist Support do not need to be repaid.

Our financial assistance service is funded entirely through charitable donations. Many people who have received support choose to give back in the future when their circumstances improve, helping us continue supporting others facing financial difficulty.

How to apply for the Essential Living Expenses Grant

Accessing Financial Assistance through Pharmacist Support is straight forward. All you need to do is:

1. Check eligibility criteria thoroughly
2. Register on our secure online Grants Portal (below) and complete each section step-by-step
3. Upload all required supporting documentation
4. We will check your eligibility and if supporting materials are missing or we need further information to assess your application, we will contact you
5. We aim to process your application and notify you of the outcome within three weeks.

NOTE If we identify a need for benefits or debt advice, you must access our Specialist Advice Service before receiving a grant. It would be helpful for the processing of your grant application form if, prior to applying, you have already checked and applied for all benefit entitlement that you, and the household if applicable, are eligible to receive.

Any grant provided by the Charity is done so at the discretion of the Charity’s Trustees and there is no statutory or other right for an individual to receive a grant.

Before you apply

To help us process your application as quickly as possible, please ensure you have the relevant supporting documents ready before starting your application.

Depending on your circumstances, this may include:

• 3 months bank statements (as up to date as possible), for all accounts held by you (and your partner, if applicable). An application cannot be processed without this financial information. Bank statements should be submitted as a pdf document, not screenshots, and have full clear information with no redactions. Your application cannot be processed without this.
• 3 months statements (as up to date as possible), for all credit cards held in your name.
• Copy of your university enrolment confirmation.
• Copy of your student finance award confirming financial help accessed and timetable of payments.
• Supporting statement from your student support officer or personal tutor who knows you well, which confirms your unexpected situation and what other funding has or will be applied for through your university.
• Evidence of rent or mortgage arrears.
• Copy of tenancy agreement.
• Medical reports or fit notes if applying due to reasons of illness.

Go to the online grants portal

Pharmacist Support Bursary Scheme

Each year the charity also runs a national bursary scheme for MPharm students entering their final year. It exists to help 3^rd year pharmacy students (4^th year if doing a sandwich degree) going into their final year of study who are experiencing financial difficulty due to an ongoing significant challenge.

Our student bursary scheme

Further financial support

Financial assistance may not always be the most appropriate form of support.

If you’re unsure what help is right for you, we can help you explore other options, including benefits advice, debt support and practical financial wellbeing resources. If you are unsure whether an application for financial assistance is the best route, you can contact us to find out about what other support might be available.

Additional help with financial difficulties, further support and information can be found in the Financial Health area of our website.