To apply to the Foundation you must either be a customer of, or live in a household supplied by, a company who donates to the EOS Foundation. These companies are:

• Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water

• Folkestone and Dover Water

• Portsmouth Water

• South East Water

• Tendring Hundred Water

The Trust can help you with:

• arrears of domestic water charges

• other essential domestic bills and costs. You can apply for such help even if you do not apply for help with your water charges. These are known as Further Assistance Payments.

You may also be eligible for help from other trust funds:

The Anglian Water Trust Fund is administered by Charis Grants alongside a number of other utility Trust Funds, namely the British Gas Energy Trust (an applicant must be a customer of British Gas or Scottish Gas), the EDF Energy Trust (an applicant must be a customer of EDF Energy) and the Eos Foundation (an applicant must be a customer of one of the donating companies namely Bournemouth and West Hampshire Water, Folkestone and Dover Water, Portsmouth Water, South East Water and Tendring Hundred Water.)  All four Trusts operate within a shared scheme with a common application form and assessment process.  So it is possible to arrange for water, sewerage and / or energy debts to be cleared at the same time.

By signing the Eos Foundation application form you give your consent to be considered for assistance from any of the trust funds administered by Charis. 

See also the Shared Programme of Giving page.

What the Trust cannot help with:

The Trust cannot give you a loan or give you help with bills you have already paid or items you have already bought.  In addition the Trust cannot help you with the following:

How to apply:

If you would like to apply to us for help, you will need to fill in our application form.

You will also need to send us proof of the amount of income you have and where it comes from e.g. wages, benefits, etc.

If you are asking for help with your water charges, we will contact the water company to confirm how much you owe them.

Apply for help by completing our online application form:

You can now complete and submit applications online by clicking here.  When we receive your online application we will provide an email acknowledgement direct to you or via a third partyif third party details are provided (e.g. if an agency is helping you to apply).  We will then contact you, or your third party, to provide any further information needed such as income proof.

If you use our online application form please complete the whole form online and then submit to the Trust electronically.  The online version of the form is not suitable to print for completion by hand as not all sections of the blank form will be available to print initially (relevant sections reveal themselves as you complete the form online).  If you would like a hard copy of the application form to complete by hand and post to the Trust, please use the pdf version of the form below.  

Applying by post :

Alternatively you can download the pdf version of the form, print and post the form to us (see address below). You can complete the form on your computer, but please make sure you print it off and sign it before sending it to us.

If you would like us to send you an application form, click here or call 01733 421021.

When filling in you application form, please read page 7 carefully to see what information you need to send into us with your completed application.  Don't forget to sign the application form in section 12 - if the form is not signed we cannot assess your application.

Sending in your application:

Once you have completed and signed your application, you should send the form and the necessary information about your income, medical condition, etc. to:

Please check that you have put the correct postage on the envelope. Incorrect postage will result in delays in our receiving and dealing with your application.

If you think you may have difficulty in completing the application form, a local money advice centre such as a Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help you fill it in.

How will we deal with your application?

When we receive your application, we will send you a letter. This letter will either say:

• that you have sent us everything we need and that we are able to assess your application,
or
• there is something missing or theinformation you have sent is unclear. Once you send us the information or explain the situation, we will then begin to assess your application.

If you are asking for help with your water charges, we will contact the company so that they can confirm how much you owe.

• If you are eligible for assistance from the other Trust Funds within the shared programme we will also let you know by letter and request any additional information required to assess your application under that Trust.

If, whilst we are assessing your application, we believe we need more information from you, we will write to you.

How will you know if you have been successful?

If we are able to help you with your water charges, a payment will be made directly to the company. We will write to you to let you know that the payment is being made.

If you are asking for help with other bills and costs and we are able to help, we will write to tell you this and will provide a cheque payable to the supplier which can only be used for that purpose.

If we are unable to help you with either kind of payment, we will write to tell you this.

How often can you apply to the Trust?

If you receive an award from the Trust, you cannot reapply to the Fund for two years.

If you do not receive an award from the Trust, you can apply again after six months.

Can I find out why my application was unsuccessful?

We regret that the Trust cannot disclose to applicants why applications are unsuccessful.

However, the following may give you some guidance on why we are unable to help everyone.

The Trust Fund does not have enough money to help everyone who applies with everything they ask for

• At present the Trust receives more FAP applications than it has money available.  This means that we cannot help everyone and Trust staff have to make very difficult decisions about who they can help.

The Trust needs to be sure how the debts have arisen

• Where applicants are looking for help with water charges, the Trust will always look for a full explanation of how the arrears have arisen.
• Sometimes applicants do not fully explain how the arrears have come about. It is difficult for the Trust to consider making a payment if it cannot see how the arrears have arisen.
• Similarly, where it is a bill like rent or energy charges, the Trust will need to understand how and why the arrears have built up.

The Trust wants to try to make a long-term difference.

• Sometimes the application shows that applicants have more money going out than they have coming in.
• In such cases, the Trust is unlikely to make a payment since it looks likely that the applicant will get into difficulties again with the same bills.
• In cases like these, the Trust will usually suggest that an applicant gets money advice from an agency like Citizens Advice to help them sort out their finances.
• Once their financial situation is more stable, people can apply again to the Fund for help after six months if they have not received any award.

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Grants for organisations

The Trust has decided initially to concentrate on making awards to individuals in need. It is likely that an organisational grant programme will be launched in the future. Details of the programme will be published on the website and also in the Trust's newsletter. Organisations can register with the Trust to receive newsletters and further information as it becomes available. You can do this by completing the section under 'contact us'.