WaveLength

Registered charity 207400 · since 1962wavelength.org.uk·International, United Kingdom·Updated 31 October 2026

At a glance

6 weeks

Typical decision time

Open to applications

Rolling, no deadlines · unsolicited applications welcome

Key takeaways

If your organisation is a small, local community group, such as a hostel, refuge or community centre, and you want media technology for people made lonely by poverty, illness, disability, homelessness, domestic abuse or becoming a refugee, WaveLength's work fits well.
The charity aims to work with small local organisations that cannot fund the technology themselves, and it gives equipment rather than cash, so ask for the TVs, radios or tablets your clients need.
Make the case for loneliness specifically, because the charity says applications must do this to succeed.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, the charity says it decides within six weeks, and you will need to submit Part 1 and Part 2 impact measurement forms and be ready for ongoing contact, since the charity values continuing relationships and asks for feedback.
Individuals, and their relatives or employees, should not apply directly, and nor should any project whose purpose is not loneliness relief, such as access to education or health services; TV licence fees are usually not funded.

Overview

WaveLength is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 207400).

WaveLength is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 207400). Its purpose is to challenge the loneliness and isolation of those in need, working in the UK and internationally through equipment, advice, representation, research and initiatives. It gives equipment both directly to individuals and through grants to groups working with people facing loneliness and isolation.

What they fund

Priority Areas

WaveLength gives media technology to lonely people living in poverty, including people made lonely through illness or injury, disability, homelessness, domestic abuse or becoming a refugee. It also gives equipment to community organisations, including hostels, refuges and community centres, for clients and communal spaces. Its work focuses on challenging loneliness and isolation rather than broader purposes. It aims to work with small, local organisations unable to fund the technology themselves. The charity values ongoing relationships with organisations and asks for feedback about the effects of the equipment; it welcomes letters and photos and visits to centres using its equipment.

Themes

Loneliness relief
Media technology

Geographic Focus

United Kingdom; internationally.

What they don't fund

Grants for purposes other than alleviating loneliness (e.g. access to education or health services)
Individual only:
- TVs to people living in temporary or sheltered accommodation
- applications directly from individuals or from their relatives or employees
- TV licence fees, usually, except in exceptional cases for people with very limited incomes and severe inability to leave their homes

How to apply

Community organisations apply for equipment through a Group Application. New organisations register on the application website and submit an application.

Who can apply:

Group applications: We aim to work with small, local organisations who are unable to fund the technology themselves.

What to send:

Individual applications
- A copy of 3 months statements of all of the applicant's current and savings accounts
- A copy of the applicant's benefits awards letters, if applicable
- A copy of the applicant's UK passport or UK birth certificate, or proof of refugee status
Group applications: Part 1 and Part 2 impact measurement forms

Application success factors

What the charity says:

It aims to work with small, local organisations unable to fund the technology themselves.
Applications must make a strong case for loneliness to succeed.
It values ongoing relationships with organisations and wants to hear about the impact of the technology it donates.
It welcomes letters and photos and visits to centres using its TVs, radios and tablets.
Group beneficiaries must submit both impact-measurement forms; missing Part 2 data can jeopardise future applications from referrers in their organisation.

Where they fund

Where it says it funds

United Kingdom
International

Similar funders

Funders supporting work similar to WaveLength.

Lonely OrphansNo public processGave £15,000 20th International Geographical Congress FundFixed deadlinesGave £3,500 Académie du Vin FoundationRollingGave £23,858 Action for A-TFixed deadlinesGave £116k Advance Movement UKInvitation only A. G. Leventis FoundationFixed deadlines Ahavas Chesed TrustNo public processGave £566k A J H Ashby Will TrustRolling Allan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable TrustRollingGave £1.8M Al - Medina TrustNo public process

Five years of accounts

Financial year	Income	Expenditure	Grants paid	Accounts document
year to 31 March 2021	£388,000	£270,500	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2021
year to 31 March 2022	£335,800	£270,500	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2022
year to 31 March 2023	£259,307	£350,720	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2023
year to 31 March 2024	£351,134	£670,526	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2024
year to 31 March 2025	£406,139	£601,214	—	Accounts for year to 31 March 2025

Figures from the charity’s filed accounts and its register entry. The document icon links to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission register, where its filed accounts can be found.