Warrington Visually Impaired People (VIP) has been awarded £50,000 of unrestricted funding from the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust, thanks to the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
This will provide a significant boost to the charity’s long-term stability and its ability to support blind and partially sighted people across Warrington. The funding will be awarded over three years, with the first instalment (1 of 2) arriving on 31 December 2025, marking a very positive start to 2026 for VIP.
Unrestricted funding is particularly vital for small, independent local charities like Warrington VIP. Unlike project-restricted grants, unrestricted funding allows charities the flexibility to respond to real and immediate needs, manage rising costs, retain skilled staff, and ensure essential services continue without interruption. In a challenging funding environment, this kind of support provides stability and resilience, enabling charities to focus on what matters most: delivering high-quality support to their communities.
Warrington VIP supports people who are blind or partially sighted, along with their families and carers, to live independently and participate fully in their communities. Sight loss can bring significant barriers, including difficulties accessing transport, social and leisure opportunities, information, and practical support, often leading to isolation and reduced well-being. This is especially challenging for people who experience sight loss later in life.
Through a wide range of services, Warrington VIP works to break down these barriers. Core activities include welfare and benefits advice, guidance on aids and devices, independent living support, a home visiting service for housebound members, twice-weekly lunch clubs, social and peer support groups, chair-based exercise sessions, accessible day trips, and holidays. Together, these services help to reduce isolation, build confidence, and promote dignity, inclusion, and well-being.
The charity is led by a strong and diverse leadership team that combines lived experience, professional expertise, and local knowledge. Trustees include people with visual impairment, family members of service users, volunteers, community leaders, and former local councillors and mayors. This ensures decisions are grounded in real experience and reflect the needs of the community Warrington VIP serves.
Geoff Settle, Chair of Trustees of Warrington VIP, said: “With the appointment of a new CEO and Deputy CEO in 2022, this award from the Postcode Lottery is a huge boost for VIP and a real validation of the changes we have made as an organisation. While our costs continue to outstrip our income, this funding will allow us to support our members in ways we could previously only imagine. It also reflects the dedication of our staff, volunteers and board, whose teamwork continues to drive us forward. ”
Like many charities, Warrington VIP has experienced significant financial pressures in recent years, including an 80% increase in rent over the past three years, rising living costs, and a reduction in legacy donations. In response, the organisation has taken proactive steps to strengthen its sustainability by introducing new strategies, building strong local partnerships, and seeking organisational and governance support and guidance from Warrington Voluntary Action. This has included working with the Warrington Food Alliance to reduce lunch club costs, collaborating with The Old School Project where Warrington VIP is based, and partnering with the Warrington Wolves Foundation to reintroduce chair-based exercise sessions. The charity has also invested in more cost-effective transport solutions through the provision of new minibuses. This vital unrestricted funding will play a crucial role in helping Warrington VIP navigate ongoing financial challenges while continuing to deliver essential services to the community.
Fiona Patterson, CEO of Warrington VIP, said: “We are incredibly grateful to the Postcode Neighbourhood Lottery for this £50,000 unrestricted award. For a small, local charity like ours, unrestricted funding is transformative. It gives us stability, flexibility, and confidence to plan ahead, support our staff, and focus our energy on delivering fantastic work for blind and partially sighted people in our community. Receiving the first instalment on 31 December was a wonderful way to begin 2026.”
This funding recognises the importance of supporting marginalised and disabled people and highlights the vital role that small, independent charities play in tackling inequality at a local level. Warrington VIP looks forward to using this support to strengthen its services, adapt to future challenges, and continue making a meaningful difference in the lives of visually impaired people across the borough.
If you or someone you know is visually impaired and would like to access Warrington VIP’s services, or if you would like to support the charity through volunteering, donations, or partnerships, the team would be delighted to hear from you. For further information, please contact the VIP Centre team on 01925 632 700 or email info@warringtonvip.co.uk
1 Comment
This really is fantastic news. I used to hear the words “Geoff we have a problem” and I new that I had to put my problem solving cap on to face days or weeks of trying to find a solution and a free sleeplessness nights but the new team those problems have got less. I always know that there’s always another monster hiding 🫣 but with the support and team who take challenges head on it’s less daunting.