Your impact: what you can fund
You can make an impact by funding CPAG's work, either through a flexible, unrestricted donation or by supporting specific projects and services that align with your priorities.
Unrestricted funding - where it’s needed most
Unrestricted donations are central to CPAG’s impact. They allow us to:
- Direct resources to the areas of greatest need
- Allocate funds in a way that achieves the greatest impact
- Respond quickly to emerging challenges
- Invest in essential infrastructure such as IT and finance so we can work more effectively
Note:
This kind of funding enables us to work strategically, drawing on six decades of expertise to tackle the root causes of child poverty. It is also the most efficient way to give, maximising impact for children and families.
If you have a particular interest, you may wish to support one or more of our core areas.
Strategic litigation
- We take on high‑impact legal cases that have the potential to improve the lives of thousands of children and families.
- Our litigation focuses on ensuring that those who find themselves needing to claim benefits, receive what they are entitled to under a social security system which operates in line with the rule of law.
- Our work regularly reaches the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, creating change that extends far beyond individual clients.
Case study: carers losing money when they fall ill
CPAG represented a client in the Upper Tribunal in a case which challenged rules that led to carers, who had transferred to universal credit, having their awards reduced when they themselves also developed health problems (so their needs increased and that led to their money being cut).
The Upper Tribunal decided those rules discriminated unlawfully against our client and other carers in a similar position, with the result that carers in this situation who themselves become unwell no longer have their income from universal credit reduced.
Read more about Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v MJ [2025] UKUT 035 (AAC)
Welfare rights
CPAG is the UK’s leading authority on social security. We provide second‑tier advice, training and resources that support frontline organisations working with low‑income families.
Our work includes:
- A daily advice line and email service for advisers handling complex cases
- Expert support to challenge incorrect decisions and secure entitlements
- Publishing trusted publications, such as the Welfare Benefits Handbook
- Online tools and templates aimed at helping advisers in their day-to-day work
- Training and events to keep welfare professionals informed
By strengthening the advice sector, we help ensure families receive the income they are legally entitled to.
The expertise and experience of CPAG workers proved crucial in resolving this case. This service is essential in providing a voice for those unable to be heard in the system, who are often the most vulnerable.
Adviceline caller
Excellent training as always from CPAG with a really knowledgeable and experienced trainer.
Training participant
Case study: overpayment debt due to incorrect DWP advice
An adviser contacted our universal credit (UC) advice service. They were supporting a couple who had been receiving UC. When the couple were approaching pension age, they had asked the DWP for advice and were told that their UC would stop automatically and to then claim pension credit. When they reached pension age, they tried to claim pension credit, and the DWP told they couldn’t because they were on UC. The DWP failed to stop paying their UC when they reached pension age, which meant that they were paid more UC than they were entitled to.
The DWP told the couple they had been overpaid by tens of thousands of pounds, and said that they would have to pay it back. This was a huge problem for a couple on a low income. Our specialist UC advice project advised on arguments that could be used to challenge the recovery of the overpayment. They also referred the adviser for support from CPAG’s judicial review project. The adviser followed our advice, which meant that the DWP agreed not to recover the overpayment and to pay the couple the extra pension credit they would have had if the DWP had correctly stopped their UC.
This failure to create a joined-up system affects many claimants, even where they have repeatedly notified the DWP of their circumstances. We also referred the case to CPAG's Early Warning System, which monitors the impact of changes in the social security system, so that it can inform policy work advocating for system improvements.
Read more
Research, policy and campaigns
We undertake agenda-setting research to understand what causes child poverty and how to end it. This evidence underpins our policy work, public campaigns and direct advocacy with decision-makers.
Our work includes:
- Influencing government, parliament and civil servants with robust analysis
- Supporting MPs and MSPs, parliamentary committees and other charities with evidence
- Hosting and coordinating coalitions such as the End Child Poverty Coalition and the Social Security Consortium
- Ensuring parents with lived experience shape policy, including direct engagement with ministers and senior officials
We also campaign publicly, working closely with national and local media to keep child poverty high on the political agenda.
Note:
Our impact
- Government commitment to develop an ambitious child poverty strategy.
- Abolition of the two-child limit on welfare benefits, which we campaigned for since its implementation, and which will immediately lift 350,000 children out of poverty and mean 700,000 children are in less deep poverty.
Find out more on our impact page
Education and working with young people
Through our Cost of the School Day UK project, we work with schools and communities to identify and remove the financial barriers that prevent children from fully participating in school life.
Our approach includes:
- Learning directly from children, parents and school staff
- Supporting schools to improve poverty awareness and inclusion
- Developing practical tools, resources and training
- Creating meaningful opportunities for young people to influence policy
We also support a youth panel and run surveys to bring the direct experiences and views of children into our work.
Note:
Our impact
- Contribution to legislation limiting the cost of school uniforms.
- Longstanding advocacy for free school meals, with government commitment that all children on universal credit will be eligible from the 2026 school year.
Find out more on our impact page
Note:
Our impact
- We proposed and campaigned for the Scottish Child Payment, credited with lifting 40,000-60,000 children out of poverty.
- Successful campaigning leading to Scottish Government commitment to mitigate the two‑child limit.
- We help nearly 20,000 people a year through our Scotland advice line.
Find out more on our impact page
Case Study: Preventing Homelessness
A woman with severe mental health problems was living with her teenage son. The DWP had stopped her universal credit and told her there was no point in challenging the decision. She had no way to pay her rent or support herself and was at risk of losing her home. CPAG’s advice line supported her adviser to challenge the decision, with the legal case for entitlement and tactics for a fast resolution. Her adviser said:
I just wanted to get back to you to say our challenge was successful! It is great news for our client…. I wanted to thank you for your support and guidance. This is life changing for this client. She would not have been able to support herself without UC.
Next step: contact us
Contact Alex Hickey, Trusts Fundraiser, Leo Nathan, Fundraiser, or Catharine Langrish, Head of Fundraising, to discuss how your funding can help end child poverty in the UK.