1. An Introduction To
By Debby Mulling – Head of Engagement

2. Who we are
Turn2us is a national charity which helps people in financial hardship to access welfare benefits, charitable grants, information and support services – online, by phone and face to face through partner organisations and volunteers

3. Our history
1897
The Distressed Gentlefolk’s Aid Association Charity founded by Elizabeth Finn
Benefits Calculator and Grants Search created
Website received 5 million visitors and completed 1.8 million benefits checks last year
2008
2017

4. The need for Turn2us
If asked, the poverty stats were taken from The latest Households Below Average Income (HBAI) Report 2013/14 (figures after housing costs) produced by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Unclaimed benefits and tax credits stat was taken from the recent statistics released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) /2015 and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) /14 and Directory of Social Change (DSC) database.
A billion is 1,000,000,000.

5. Turn2us – 2016/2017 Turn2us awarded 3278 direct grants
1.8 benefits calculations carried out
7.1m visits to our website
662,000 grant searches completed

6. Support available in grants
£332 million a year is available in charitable grants
People who use the Turn2us Grants Search tool see an average annual income increase of over £3,272 in regular charitable grants
But currently only 3% of people say they would seek help from a charitable source
Ask the room what they understand by the term ‘grant.’ Explain a grant is a sum of money that a fund gives to someone in need who is eligible for their help. It is a gift or award, so does not have to be paid back. A grant can take three main forms: money – a one off payment or a regular allowance, services/support or products. Ask when they think they might look for a grant.
£332 million figure taken from the Directory of Social Change (DSC) database.
Individuals who have used the Turn2us Grants Search tool in saw an average annual income increase of over £3,272 in regular charitable grants and over £599 in one-off grants.

7. www.turn2us.org.uk The Turn2us Benefits Calculator
The Grants Search tool
Information for service users and intermediaries
Find an adviser tool
Explain that the allows people to navigate for information based on their situation. For example, someone can select ‘carer,’ ‘prisoner,’ or ‘expecting a child’ for example from the tabs on the home page.
It also houses a wealth of information for intermediaries – such as an a-z of benefits, a section on benefit changes and a jargon buster.
The website received nearly 4 million visits last year.
Mention allows that the website has a Find an Advisor tool so people can locate their nearest advisor.
The Turn2us also has a helpline, , a free, confidential and independent service for people who do not have internet access or need help to use it. The helpline is free from landlines and mobile networks: EE, 3, Vodaphone, T Mobile, Virgin and 02. It offers Text Relay for people with hearing impairments. It is available from 9am to 8pm Monday to Friday.

8. The Benefits Calculator
Free and easy to use
Constantly updated by a team of welfare benefits specialists
Intermediary version designed for professionals and volunteers working with those in financial need
Estimates entitlement to means-tested benefits, child benefit and carers allowance
Calculates Universal Credit allowance
Maximum of 6 steps to find out entitlement
Gives people the tools and information so they don’t need to be a benefits expert
Public version is free and easy to use for everyone
By registering for a free Turn2us account you can access the Turn2us Intermediary Benefits Calculator. Benefits of the Intermediary version are that you can:
- Save up to 3 calculations per client
- Duplicate and edit calculations
- Access calculations completed by you and others in your branch or organisations
- Advance reporting features
Apply to intermediary-only grants

9. The Grants Search tool Nearly 1500 charitable funds listed
Regularly updated
Can apply online or find contact details
The Elizabeth Finn Fund and The Turn2us Response Fund are the charity’s own funds.
Each charity operates under its own terms and so it is advisable to read up on each before applying and not assume two will respond in the same way.
Anyone can receive a grant. Qualifying rules are determined by each fund, each will vary slightly according to each charity’s focus.
You can apply to maximum of 3 funds at any one time using the tool.
The Elizabeth Finn Fund supports professionals with the right to remain the UK, savings of less than £4000 and who are on low income or welfare benefits. It distributes £3.5 million annually.

10. Who seeks support from us
The most common age of people who use our helpline and the website is 25 – 34 years old.
April 2017 – Sept 2017 figures

11. Who seeks support from us
April 2017 – Sept 2017 figures

12. Accessing online services
What challenges do people have accessing services?
Language – use Plain English
Layout of a webpage
Access to computer
Digital literacy
Access to WIFI

13. Preferred medium
April 2017 – Sept 2017 figures

14. Preferred medium
April 2017 – Sept 2017 figures

15. AND 10% OF PEOPLE USE A TABLET
Preferred medium
AND 10% OF PEOPLE USE A TABLET
April 2017 – Sept 2017 figures

16. COMPLETING 14,000 GRANT SEARCHES AND BENEFIT CALCULATIONS
our helpline
COMPLETING 14,000 GRANT SEARCHES AND BENEFIT CALCULATIONS
* April 2017 – Sept 2017 figures

17. What can you do to ensure your services accessible?
Accessing online services
What can you do to ensure your services accessible?
Use Plain English
The most read section of our website is around disability benefits so we know we have people using assistive technology software e.g. screenreaders, for this reason we use a number of tools and agencies that specialise in accessibility to test and highlight potential issues.

18. What can you do to ensure your services accessible?
Accessing online services
What can you do to ensure your services accessible?
The only way to really be sure your online content is accessible is by testing using a range of people with accessibility needs to check what their user experience is. We would suggest your testers include visually impaired people, older people, dyslexic users and colour blind.
There are many tools available – the W3C (Worldwide Web Consortium) who set international standards around accessibility have good guidance

19. training@turn2us.org.uk turn2us.org.uk
Impact
Contact :
turn2us.org.uk
Turn2us works with a range of national and local organisations so they can reach more people in financial hardship
They train around 2000 partners each year to use the Turn2us tools
Together they helped to identify £101 million in estimated additional income
DON’t FORGET TO FOLLOW!
Talk about the workshops and ask attendees to contact
Average of £3,380 per person in available benefits identified and £532 per person.