Coronavirus: funding updates

Funders have been quick to issue statements on how they will support their grant holders in the coming months. The message is clear – they will listen to their grant holders and try and be as flexible as possible in terms of deadlines, reporting requirements and financial flexibility. Over 230 funders have now signed the covid-19 funder pledge to this effect.

In terms of funding, many have decided to support central appeals such as the National Emergencies Trust or national organisations such as the Trussell Trust. Others have created their own emergency funding schemes, details of which can be found below. We will of course keep you informed as new funds and resources emerge in the coming weeks.

Additionally, there’s also loads more information on over 8,000 funders on our Funds Online website – click here to find out more.

Friday 15 May

Strathnairn Community Benefit Fund Ltd

Strathnairn Community Benefit Fund (SCBF) states on its website that it will do all it can to support the community at this difficult time. Existing grant holders have already been informed that they can apply for additional funding where needed to cope with the demands of the current emergency. As with most charities, funds are limited and have to be balanced with the need to hold back money to help with the long term recovery of the community. However, SCBF invites applications from newly-formed organisations for a general grant to support their work, once they have a clear picture of needs, the likely cost of activities and plans in place to keep volunteers and beneficiaries safe. Applications for funding for this type of work should be made on the ‘general grant’ form, preferably online.

SCBF can also support individuals in financial crisis through the ‘respite or relief of hardship’ grant programme. Applicants should have exhausted government, the welfare system and banks & building societies’ sources of help before making an application, which should be done through SCBF’s website.

Further details and the relevant application forms can be found here, on the charity’s website.

The Hadrian Trust

The Hadrian Trust allocates grants to charities and groups working for the benefit of the people and environment of Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Durham, including Hartlepool. Although it’s experiencing a reduction in investment income like many other charities, the Trust will be putting its emphasis on prioritising organisations supporting people and communities during the pandemic over the coming months. Applications should, wherever possible, be made through the charity’s website here, and further information on how to apply is here.

Thursday 14 May

The Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust

The Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust has suspended its routine grant-making programme for the time being and is instead inviting emergency applications from charities which the Trust has previously supported. To benefit from emergency funding, your organisation must have less than three months’ projected expenditure in cash funds available. See here for further details of eligibility and how to apply.

The Rank Foundation

The Rank Foundation remains operational during the COVID-19 pandemic and has made the following funds available to members of its existing network of current and past grant recipients:

• An Emergency Fund for immediate grants of up to £750 to purchase equipment, technology or memberships; and
• A Resilience Fund for grants to cover cashflow, fundraising and loss of income challenges relating to the current COVID-19 related climate, including those facing significant, unplanned demand on services.

Internal processes have been streamlined to ensure a swift and timely response to all requests. The charity is also reviewing its Pebble Grants programme to allow for wider public access. If you’re an existing member of The Rank Foundation’s network, you can apply for grants from the Emergency or Resilience Funds via the RankNet Community Platform. Keep an eye out for news on the Pebble Grants programme on the charity website here.

The George A Moore Foundation

The George A Moore Foundation provides support to registered charities based in North and West Yorkshire, and has provided much needed support over the years to thousands of large and small charities working in a variety of spheres, from education to health, armed forces to community and sporting projects. While staff are currently working from home due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, charities within the Foundation’s area of operation are still welcome to submit applications which will be considered when the next trustee meeting takes place. In the meantime, applications for emergency funding related to the pandemic can be submitted by email and will be considered as soon as possible. Further details on the application process can be found here.

For information on 8,000 funders giving a total of £8 billion, take a look at our Funds Online website.

Wednesday 13 May

The COVID-19 Impact Programme for Armed Forces Communities

The Ministry of Defence has announced £6 million of funding for armed forces charities doing vital work to support serving personnel, veterans and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak. The money is part of a package of support announced by the Chancellor in April to ensure charities can continue their vital work during the pandemic. The sum is in addition to existing funding for veteran’s mental health and the Armed Forces Covenant Trust.

The money will be administered by the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund, backed by the MOD and the Cabinet Office, and distributed in grant form to charities and Community Interest Companies across the UK addressing the impact of coronavirus on the elderly (including care homes), on mental and physical health, on welfare, on domestic violence, on housing, the criminal justice system, service families (including childcare), and in terms of bereavement and employment.

Grants of up to £60,000 (or £125,000+ in exceptional circumstances) are available. Applicants must demonstrate that they have:

• a strong history of working with people from Armed Forces communities, with at least one year’s worth of published accounts;
• fewer resources coming into their organisation due to Covid-19
• the same, or increased, demand for the services that they deliver to people from Armed Forces communities.

The application process opened on Tuesday 12 May and is published on the Covenant Fund’s website. A separate decision-making board for applications has been appointed – this includes representatives from MOD, the Cabinet Office and Cobseo, the sector body for Armed Forces charities. Organisations in receipt of a grant must commit to spending it all by 31 October 2020. The closing date for applications is Friday,29 May 2020 and detailed guidance on making an application can be found here.

Small and medium sized charities are advised that they can also bid for funding through the National Lottery Community fund, which has an allocation of £370 million to support the sector.

£5 Million Loneliness COVID-19 Grant Fund

The Government (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, Office for Civil Society and Baroness Barran MBE) has launched a £5m fund today to tackle loneliness resulting from the coronavirus outbreak and period of social distancing. National organisations working to tackle loneliness and build social connections are invited to apply for a share of the £5m funding to continue and adapt their critical work. Grants of between £500,000 and £1m will be awarded to successful applicants whose services:

• can reach people in ‘cold spots’ where informal neighbourly support and small local charities are not able to fully meet needs around social connection;
• serve the needs of groups particularly at risk of loneliness, including those noted in ONS analysis and Community Life Survey and Active Lives Survey data;
• continue, adapt or expand existing provision where there is a track record of successful delivery; AND
• cannot be provided without this additional funding.

Services must meet all of these aims to be eligible for this funding. The application form and further guidance is available here. The deadline for applications is 12pm on Friday,29 May 2020 and completed applications should be returned by email to the Loneliness Fund team at loneliness@culture.gov.uk.

Walton on Thames Charity Community Grants

Walton on Thames Charity administers a Community Grants programme, enabling and supporting local organisations to provide a wide range of services to people living in the local community of Elmbridge. In recognition of the ongoing difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the trustees have set aside £100,000 to make grants specifically to help with the fall-out from the pandemic. More details are available here, and enquiries about applying for a grant can be made to Caroline Davies, Head of Community Programmes on 0203 328 0247 or by emailing cdavies@waltoncharity.org.uk.

Tuesday 12 May

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs: Food Charities Grant Fund

Front-line food charities are now eligible to apply for a grant of up to £100,000 to help them continue to provide food to vulnerable people during the Coronavirus crisis as part of Defra’s new Food Charities Grant Fund. The fund is operating on a first come first served basis with Defra assessing applications in the order that they come in.

Charities are eligible for the grant if they are unable to meet the increased demand for food from vulnerable individuals and supporting charities and have the capacity to distribute all the food purchased with this grant by 9 August 2020. The grant can be used to purchase food for people who are unable to afford food or have moved into contemporary accommodation due to Covid-19, such as domestic abuse victims, those recently released from prison, or newly homeless people. The fund cannot be used to provide food for the extremely clinically vulnerable, as they are being supported by the government.

To apply, charities have to have registered with the eSourcing portal and apply through that.

The Enkalon Foundation

The Enklon Foundation is deferring all non-critical funding applications and is instead focusing their funding capabilities on applications for funding that respond to the Coronavirus pandemic by supporting vulnerable members of the public. The Foundation is prioritising the needs of the former Antrim Borough area so charities and communities working in this vicinity should contact the administrator via email or telephone to outline their proposal. Proposals who meet the criteria will be forwarded an application form for the Enkalon Foundation Coronavirus Community Support Fund.

The Foundation will be processing applications for Coronavirus Community Support Fund and reaching decisions on funding as quickly as possible; there is no deadlines for funding rounds. Visit the Foundation’s website for the administrator’s contact details.

National Lottery Awards for All England

The National Lottery has adapted their Awards for All programme to focus on funding projects by organisations that support their communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. This programme is now only funding activities that support people affected by the crisis and it is anticipated that this will be the case for 6 months.

Voluntary and community organisations can apply for grants of between £300 and £10,000 to fund their work supporting people at high risk from Covid-19, or people who have faced an increase in challenges as a result of Coronavirus. Projects must involve the local community to be eligible for the funding. Applicants can apply to the fund online through the National Lotter Awards for All website, the application process is ongoing.

Monday 11 May

Domestic abuse safe accommodation: COVID-19 emergency support fund

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced £10 million of funding for domestic violence charities in the form of the Domestic Abuse Safe Accommodation@ COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund. The money for this fund comes from the £76 million promised to domestic violence and abuse charities by the government and will support domestic abuse safe accommodation charities from 1 April to 30 September. Charities providing safe accommodation for victims of domestic violence in England are eligible for the funding, and the MHCLG strongly encourages bids from consortiums of service providers.

The MHCLG expects individual charities to bid for up to £100,000, but will consider bids for over £100,000 from consortium bids or when charities demonstrate exceptional value for money. The deadline for applications is Thursday 21 May.

Additional information on applications and eligibility can be found on the government’s website.

Scottish Government Wellbeing Fund

The second round of the Scottish Government’s Wellbeing Fund is now open to applications and completed applications must be received by noon on May 22^nd to be considered for funding. Organisations across the third sector supporting people affected by coronavirus are eligible for the fund if their activity focuses on working with at risk groups with new needs that are not currently being met by existing services and provides vital wellbeing support. Activities should also be focused on immediate and emerging forms of support.

Further information on the fund is available from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations’ website.

Visual Arts Scotland Emergency Art Workers Support Fund

The second round of the Emergency Art Workers Support Fund is now open and will close on Friday 15^th May. The fund is offering grants at a flat rate of £250 for creative practitioners (artists, makers, curators, technicians, art educators) who are facing immediate financial hardship and do not have savings to fall back on. The fund can be used to cover loss of income incurred as a result of Covid-19 such as freelancers who have had work cancelled, or creative practitioners who have lost out on work due to the restrictions brough on by Covid-19.

Applications can be made through the Visual Arts Scotland website where additional guidance can also be found.

For information on 8,000 funders giving over £8 billion and how to subscribe, click here now to go to our Funds Online platform.

Thursday 7 May

The Hampstead Wells and Campden Trust

The Hampstead Wells and Campden Trust (HWCT) is established to alleviate poverty and advance health in the charity’s area of benefit. They typically make grants to organisations, individuals and families. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the HWCT is continuing to accept, process and provide grants to individuals in need, though timescales may be extended and communication slower than usual. The trust advises that local groups and organisations needing larger sums to cover emergency work or adapt services to new ways of working should apply to the London Community Response Fund. More details on eligibility, how to apply and the online application form can be found here.

The Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust

The Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust is a family charity making grants to charitable causes and projects in areas local or relevant to the Chatsworth, Bolton Abbey and the Devonshire Group estates, but sometimes supporting projects further afield at the Trustees’ discretion. Understanding the hardships being caused to many as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trust is accepting applications specifically linked to the Coronavirus crisis, as well as applications for its current round of funding, the closing date for which is Monday, 8 June. If applying for COVID-19 related funding, the application form should be clearly headed COVID or CORONAVIRUS and emailed to mollie.moseley@chatsworth.org, and the Trust will aim to review these applications as soon as possible. For more details and guidelines on completing the application form, see the website here.

The Baring Foundation

The Baring Foundation’s Strengthening Civil Society programme has today launched three new funding schemes to support its grantees and broader civil society through the Covid-19 crisis. The fund will run throughout 2020 and will amount to £1m in grant money.

The first new stream of funding is for Supporting Legal Action Related To Covid-19 and is open to applications from all registered charities, including current grant holders, with an annual income of less than £5m. Grants are available of up to £40,000 for organisations with a demonstrable legal expertise in the area in which they work.

Deadlines for this fund are staggered throughout 2020, with the first one being midday on Thursday 28 May. Further guidance for applying to the fund can be found on their website, as well as later deadlines, and an application form.

There are two additional new grants, an Operational Impacts Grant and an Increase In Demand For Advice From Frontline Organisations grant. Both of these are open to current grant holders and other organisations who have received funding from the Strengthening Civil Society programme since 2016.

The Operational Impacts Grant is offering small-scale grants of up to £5,000 to organisations who have been severely impacted by Covid-19. The Increase In Demand From Frontline Organisations strand is offering grants of up to £30,000 for hub organisations which provide legal advice to other organisations, helping them to drive social change.

The Implementing successful litigation fund, a previously established fund, is still operating with the next deadline being on May 20^th at 9am.

Wednesday 6 May

The William A Cadbury Charitable Trust

This Birmingham-based grantmaking charitable trust provides funding to other charitable organisations working principally in the West Midlands. The trustees have reluctantly cancelled consideration of its current round of grant applications, many of which were drawn up before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the UK. Instead, though, it is responding on an ad hoc basis to grant applications from charitable organisations in the West Midlands dealing with the direct and indirect consequences of the pandemic. As the team are working from home, applications should be submitted online here, while the website contains useful guidelines on the types of projects the charity usually funds.

Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity

The trustees of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity have approved a hardship fund to support people and organisations facing unexpected situations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grants have already been made to, for example, ships and submarines, shore establishments, overseas commands and in support of vulnerable Navy families. The charity is also working with a number of fellow charities to ensure there is sufficient funding to help working-age and older veterans as the results of the crisis are felt. Organisations seeking hardship grants from RNRMC can find out more through completing the online enquiry form, while individuals seeking support should email info@rnrmc.org.uk . Further information is available on the charity’s website here.

Resourcing Racial Justice

Resourcing Racial Justice has announced a fund to support BAME charities through crises, be it Covid-19 or otherwise. Applicants can apply for grants between £5,000 to £50,000 to support their projects that respond to the immediate needs brought about by this crisis, and other crises that may occur after the current pandemic, such as an environmental crisis brought on by global warming.

This comes after the racial justice charity #CharitySoWhite has published an open letter asking for the ringfencing of 20% of Covid-19 related funding for BAME charities citing the recently published report by Ubele stating that 9 out of 10 BAME micro and small organisations are set to close following the lockdown.

The first round of funding opens 18^th May and closes 15^th June. A launch event webinar will be help on 20^th May that will provide more information on the Resourcing Racial Justice Fund and how to apply.

Tuesday 5 May

Barclays 100×100 UK COVID-19 Community Relief Programme

Early in April, Barclays announced its £100m Community Aid Package to support charities and local organisations working to support the vulnerable within their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first tranche of funding is now available through its 100×100 COVID-19 Community Relief Programme, which is offering 100 donations of £100k each to UK registered charities with incomes of over £1 million that can demonstrated they have a track record in delivering impactful on the ground support that directly meets the needs of vulnerable communities within the UK. This programme focuses on supporting charity partners who are meeting the needs of groups such as low income families, those facing financial hardship, isolated elderly people and keyworkers. The deadline for applications is Friday, 22 May and more details on eligibility and how to apply can be found here.

The Junius S Morgan Benevolent Fund

The Junius S Morgan Benevolent Fund, supported by The Burdett Trust for Nursing, has announced that is now offering grants for nurses, healthcare assistants, and third and fourth year student nurses volunteering with the NHS who find themselves in hardship. Cash grants of up to £1,500 are available and applications will be processed as quickly as possible. More information including on eligibility and how to apply online are available here.

Heritage Lottery Fund

The Heritage Lottery Fund have set up the Heritage Emergency Fund of £50m to support the UK heritage sector during Coronavirus. Short term funding is available for charities to help them manage the unforeseen risks that have been brought upon them by Coronavirus and the ensuing lockdown. Not-for-profit organisations who have, or have previously had, a grant directly from the Heritage Lottery Fund and who own, manage or represent a heritage.

Grants of between £3,000 and £5,000 are available and applications are open until 30 June. Further information on eligibility and how applications will be prioritised can be found on their website.

Lloyds Bank Foundation

Lloyds Bank Foundation are providing immediate funding to charities who have already spent a significant amount of time on their applications, or were expecting to receive new funding. They are prioritising charities who have adapted their services to meet the challenges of Covid-19. These charities will receive a one-year grant with a lighter touch assessment approach to allow charities to focus on responding to Covid-19.

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

Defra have announced yesterday, May 4^th, that they have made £14m in funding available for zoos and aquariums under the Zoo Support Fund. Zoos and aquariums in England are able to apply for a grant of up to £100,000, how much you are eligible for will depend on your animals’ needs.

The grant can be used to cover costs that can not be lowered such as keepers’ wages, animal feed and bedding, veterinary care, electricity, and waste removal. Zoos who hold a licence under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 or have been granted an exception under the Act and instead hold a licence under the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018. Full eligibility criteria can be found on the Defra’s government page, along with the application process..

Monday 4 May

Arts Council of Wales (also known as Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru)

The second round of applications for the Urgent Response Fund for Individuals has opened, the deadline for applications is 5pm Wednesday 6 May. The Fund offers grants at a flat rate of £2,500 to help artists and freelancers meet their most urgent financial needs while they explore other revenues of financial support available to them.

The Fund’s guidelines, as well as application process can be found on their website or by clicking here.

Creative Scotland

Creative Scotland has launched three funding programmes to support artists during the Covid19 pandemic, one of which has now closed. The funding programmes aim to support self-employed artists and freelancers who do not qualify for other government support available.

The Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary (now closed) was available to artists and freelancers who had lost work as a result of Covid19. A similar fund, the Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary is open to applications from freelancers or self-employed people working in Scotland’s screen sector. The Screen Scotland Bridging Bursary is providing one off bursaries of £500 to £2,500 to freelance PAYE and self-employed screen sector workers experiencing immediate financial difficulty due to loss of work as a result of Covid19.

The Open Funding: Sustaining Creative Development grant scheme is open to creative practitioners who are continuing to develop work during the pandemic. Applicants are encouraged to use the grant money to sustain their work during this period, by reimagining their practise or adapting to the new social conditions that have resulted from the pandemic. The funds will support work for up to a 12 month period and grants with a maximum award of £50,000 are available.

Freelands Foundation Emergency Fund

The Freelands Foundation has announced a £1.5 million Emergency Fund as part of a landmark commitment of £3m towards emergency funds for artists and freelance creative practitioners across the UK in urgent need of financial support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Opening at 2pm on Thursday, 7 May, the new fund will offer grants of £1,500 to £2,500 per person, assessed by need, with £1 million allocated for distribution in England and £500k for individuals in Northern Ireland. This is in addition to the charitable company’s £1m contribution to the Creative Scotland Bridging Bursary and £500k donated to the Arts Council of Wales Urgent Relief Fund for Individuals. Further information and guidance on applying to the Freelands Foundation Emergency Fund is available here now.

For information on 8,000 funders giving over £8 billion and how to subscribe, click here now to go to our Funds Online platform.

Friday 1 May

The Teeside Emergency Relief Fund has been setup by the Tees Valley Community Foundation and is offering grants of up to £1,000 for organisations working to relieve the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak. Groups can apply for funding as many times as they need, and the grants are being issued as quickly as possible once they have been approved. Organisations are encouraged to apply for funding even if they aren’t sure if they are eligible, either by using the website’s online form, or by contacting the Foundation via Facebook.

The Community Foundation For Surrey (CFS) announced on 28 April that its Surrey Coronavirus Response Fund had reached £1 million, £600,000 of which had already been distributed. The figure includes £326,700 from NET’s Coronavirus Appeal and more than £717,000 in donations from local donors and partners. The emergency funding the Foundation has awarded has gone to 122 community groups, reaching more than 90,000 beneficiaries across the county. Charities and community groups interested in applying for Coronavirus Response Funding grants of up to £5,000 can find the eligibility criteria here and apply online here. As an alternative to applying online, you can also select a time for an interview by phone with a CFS volunteer.

One Community Foundation Ltdin Kirklees, West Yorkshire has launched its Coronavirus Emergency Fund in partnership with NET. Organisations in the local area helping meet immediate need as a result of the crisis can apply for grants of up to £2,000, with repeat applications welcome once the previous grant has been spent. The Foundation aims to process requests within 5 to 10 working days. Full criteria and the application form can be found here. The Foundation can’t currently help with funding for charities to counter a loss of income due to the pandemic, but is compiling a list of interested organisations for future funding rounds. To register your interest, email emma@one-community.org.uk, stating your organisation’s name with a brief description of your situation and level of financial support you are looking for.

Community Foundation for Calderdale is operating a Community Resilience Fund to support organisations on the front line who are helping those most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Grants of up to £3,000 are available, with smaller grants of up to £1,000 for groups that may not have a constitution or a bank account, but are nevertheless working to meet need within their communities. If you’re in the Calderdale area and your organisation needs extra funding to help you support local Calderdale communities, email Rob Billson, rob@cffc.co.uk, for an application form.

Norfolk Community Foundation is coordinating its COVID-19 response in partnership withCommunity Action Norfolk,Voluntary NorfolkandMomentum. This includes a centralised point for volunteer registration and management of requests for support, and working closely with existing organisations to ensure they have the tools they need to respond. Grants are now available to help charitable groups across Norfolk to respond to the needs of vulnerable local people affected by the outbreak. For grants of up to £1,000 to support urgent local community action, go to COVID-19 Community Response Fund. For grants of up to £10,000 (or up to £25,000 for major strategic partnership projects) to meet one or more of the priorities for action set by Norfolk’s Local Resilience Forum, go to COVID-19 Local Resilience Fund.

Thursday 30 April

Smallwood Trust, which helps women to overcome financial difficulties and improve their social and emotional well-being, is still very much open for business and aiming to support as many women as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although their next grants to organisations programme has yet to be announced, their grants to individuals programme is open for applications from women concerned about their income, employment or wellbeing. For details about eligibility for support from this Women’s Resilience Fund, FAQs and how to apply, see here. The Trust has also entered into a partnership with Glasspool Charity Trust to distribute essential needs grants directly to women on low incomes via community partnerships – information on eligibility for a grant from both organisations can be found here.

County Durham Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Fund is established to support community groups and organisations through this uncertain period. The aim is to offer emergency funding to deal with emerging issues in the local community arising from the coronavirus pandemic, to support relief work and to help organisations survive. Grants of up to £5,000 are available under two themes, the first for Proactive projects that are currently or will be responding to the COVID-19 crisis. The second theme is for Recovery and Resilience, to help charities and other community organisations whose operations and finances have been significantly affected by loss of income due to COVID-19. Priority will initially be given to projects under the first theme. Detailed guidelines are available here and applications can be made online here.

Hertfordshire Community Foundation is offering grants of up to £5,000 to small charities and community groups dealing with the emerging issues in the local community caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The current focus is on offering emergency funding to groups working with those considered to be the most vulnerable at this time, including the elderly and those on low or insecure incomes. However, the criteria may change in the near future to meet emerging needs. There’s a simplified application form, a rolling deadline and a fast turnaround to make sure help is given as soon as possible. Download the full criteria and guidance for applications here, and apply online here.

Wiltshire Community Foundation’s Foundation Grant Round for July will focus on alleviating needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Organisations can initially apply for grants of between £1,000 to £5,000, or exceptionally up to £10,000, to help local people who have been disadvantaged due to the coronavirus pandemic. If sufficient funds are available from the Foundation’s local Coronavirus Response Fund appeal and the National Emergencies Trust, money may be available at a later date to help organisations’ sustainability if they have lost income or otherwise had their financial position weakened as a result of the pandemic. This grants programme will remain open while there is still a need for it and while the Foundation still has funds available. For up-to-date details and a link to the short online application form, click here.

Two Ridings Community Foundation

Non-profit organisations such as charities, community groups and social enterprises in North Yorkshire, York, East Riding of Yorkshire and Hull are eligible for a Coronavirus Community Fund set up and administered by Two Ridings Community Foundation. The Fund is being delivered in two stages with the first stage focusing on the immediate needs of the community in response to Coronavirus. This first phase of funding will remain available for groups that only require a small amount of funding and a “light touch” approach will be used to administer the fund with a short application form and only very basic monitoring. These smaller grants are available for up to £2,000.

Key community organisations who are working with marginalised and underrepresented communities are eligible for larger grants of up to £10,000. These grants are intended for organisations with a wide reach and a track record of supporting communities who can continue to deliver under the current difficult circumstances. Larger partnership bids of over £10,00 are available from groups who are working together to provide a strategic solution to a particular issue such as food provision.

Applications should read the Grant Guidance Notes for the grant which they are intending to apply for, then submit an application using the online application forma available from the Foundation’s website.

Wednesday 29 April

Community Foundation serving Tyne & Wear and Northumblerand

The Community Foundation has opened a rolling grants programme of Coronavirus funding available to organisations providing immediate relief to vulnerable people affected by the Covid-19 crisis. The Foundation is classifying vulnerable people as those over 70, individuals with pre-existing health conditions, those experiencing financial hardship, victims of domestic violence, people with mental health issues, or people who have suffered bereavement. Organisations supporting communities who were marginalised or faced discrimination before the pandemic are also encouraged to apply as the Foundation is keen to support groups who are generally poorly served by mainstream organisations and so will likely find that exacerbated now.

The Foundation is offering grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 and is not open to applications from local authorities, state schools, NHS trusts, or other statutory bodies. The fund is also not open to individuals and households. More information one eligibility and how to apply can be found here.

The Community Foundation for Wiltshire & Swindon

The Community Foundation for Wiltshire and Swindon are working along side the National Emergencies Trust and have set up a Coronavirus Response Fund. The Fund will prioritise groups helping the most vulnerable in Wiltshire and Swindon with the grant being able to be used to cover any reasonable costs related to relieving the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The fund is open to applications from constituted voluntary or community organisations, registered charities, CICs, PTAs, churches, and parish and town councils (if the funded activity is no deemed part of their statutory duties). Coluntary and community organisations who do not have a constitution or a bank account are eligible for the fund, but must be linked to a constituted organization or local statutory body. More information on eligibility and the grant application form can be found here.

The Quartet Community Foundation

Quartet Community Foundation works across the West of England, covering Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. Their Coronavirus Response Fund opened on 18 March 2020 and will remain open for the rest of the year, offering emergency funding of up to £5,000 for single organisations and up to £20,000 for partnerships. Grants are for charities and organisations delivering activities locally to support vulnerable and disadvantaged members of communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Guidelines for applicants and a link to the online application form can be found here.

The Cripplegate Foundation

Cripplegate Foundation has launched a crisis fund to raise money to support groups responding to the Coronavirus pandemic in Islington. Charities looking for emergency funding who operate in Islington should apply to the London Community Response Fund and if they are successful, the Cripplegate Foundation will fund their application. If they are unsuccessful in getting funding from the Foundation, then the may still receive funding from the wider London Community Response Fund.

The second wave of grants from the London Community Response Fund are now open to applicants, and there are two funding programmes that can be applied to:

Crisis response- grants of up to £10,000 to allow groups to meet the immediate needs of the community they support;

Delivering differently- grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 to enable organisations to change the ways in which they work so that they can continue to meet the needs of their community.

Tuesday 28 April

The Vinci UK Foundation has announced the opening of a €400k Covid-19 fund available to charitable organisations providing support to healthcare professionals (although not by buying PPE or by donating money directly to the NHS), supporting healthcare in the community, or assisting schools to keep operating during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Charities that have already received grants from Vinci UK are encouraged to apply again, and there is no need for a member of staff to sponsor the application. More information about eligibility be found here and you can apply for funding here.

Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) has launched its Community Resilience Fund to help community and voluntary organisations within its geographical area to meet the new needs and challenges created by COVID-19. As well as distributing the funds allocated to it by the National Emergencies Trust, the Foundation’s Fund has been boosted by a direct donation of £500,000 from the Indigo Trust. OCF is also appealing for donations through its online funding platform, charity checkout. Community and voluntary organisations seeking funds can apply for grants online here, and OCF typically responds within a week of a successful application being made. Finally, OCF is also staging weekly Zoom webinars giving updates and advice to charities and community groups on a range of relevant topics. Recordings of past webinars and Zoom login details for future ones are available on the charity’s website.

Community Foundation Wales launched its Wales Coronavirus Resilience Fund with an initial sum of £200,000 and has since been appealing for donations to help fund charities, community groups and not for profit organisations working in Wales and providing activities to vulnerable groups. Grants are also being made to organisations that have had to adapt the ways they work to respond to Welsh communities’ rapidly changing needs. As at 24 April 2020, 169 groups have already received a total of £368,176 in emergency funding through the Foundation. To see which organisations have made successful applications and/ or to apply online for a grant, click here.

The Prince’s Trustand NatWest have set up an Enterprise Relief Fund offering grants that can be used to maintain core business costs, as well as to meet any existing financial commitments such as invoices from suppliers and essential equipment. The grants will also support young people diversify their business so that they can respond to the crisis.

Business owners aged 18-30 who set up their business in the last 4 years are eligible for grants from the scheme, but business owners aged 18 – 30 who are not eligible are still encouraged to get in touch for 1 – 1 support from the Trust.

In addition to this funding by NatWest, Social and Community Capital, a charity funded by NatWest, has announced £500k to be available as grants for social enterprises and community businesses.

Monday 27 April

CEO Sleepout

CEO Sleepout, which fights homelessness and poverty, has launched a Community Volunteer Groups Emergency Fund to provide cash grants to local community volunteer groups across the UK that are responding to coronavirus measures, such as bringing essential supplies to those who are isolating alone. Once the Emergency Fund has raised £2,500, it will begin distribution of funds. Volunteer groups who wish to register to apply for a £250 grant can fill in the form here.

Somerset Community Foundation

The Sommerset Foundation has launched an emergency Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund to support local charities as they respond and adapt to the challenges brought on by the novel Coronavirus. Grants of up to £10,000 are available to fund work that directly responds to the Coronavirus outbreak. This work may be providing ongoing support for vulnerable people, supporting health and social care provision in the local community, keeping foodbanks running and coordinating community responses.

The fund is open to local charities, community organisations, social enterprises and parish or town councils in Somerset. Groups who have been set up in response to the Coronavirus outbreak are eligible to apply but need to meet the criteria specified for new groups on the Foundation’s website. These include having  safeguarding measures in place, links to charities, and the endorsement of an established community organisation. Grants to new groups will normally be capped at £1,000.

Sussex Community Foundation

The Sussex Community Foundation has launched the Sussex Crisis Fund to support local charities during the Coronavirus pandemic. Emergency grants of up to £5,000 are available to cover running costs, volunteer expenses, staff costs and rent costs to support crisis response work. The grants can also cover essential provisions, capital costs, as well as costs incurred but organisations having to adapt how they operate to meet social distancing conditions. More information on what grants can cover can be found here.

To be eligible for a grant from the fund, your organisation must be a constituted group and have a bank account. Parish and town councils may also be eligible but should contact the Foundation to check. Non-constituted groups who have been set up in response to the Coronavirus outbreak but are registers with Covid-19 Mutual Aid UK may also be eligible, but again should contact the Foundation before applying.

The Sussex Crisis fund has its own criteria and application form separate to the regular funds the Foundation operates. These can be found on the Foundations website.

Seafarers UK

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on merchant seafarers, fishers and their families, the London-based charity Seafarers UK has created a new Seafarers UK COVID-19 Emergency Fund of £2 million ($2.46 million), with grants being awarded immediately to delivery partners providing advice and support for individual seafarers affected by the widespread coronavirus impacts.

The new fund is intended for distribution in 2020/2021, with 75% allocated to the international merchant seafaring community and 25% to UK coastal fishing fleets. Effective partnership working with frontline service delivery organisations across the UK plus those acting globally is already ensuring a rapid response to meet urgent welfare needs.

Seafarers UK chairman Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson CB CVO BA said: ‘The trustees of Seafarers UK are releasing £2 million of new funds to help seafarers and fishers recover from the widespread impact on their wellbeing and livelihoods as a result of the coronavirus. We will work with our charity partners to provide both hardship funding and innovative new projects to support our seafarers through and beyond the current crisis. Our long history of helping those who work at sea enables us to target effective and meaningful support to where it is most needed.’

Grants from Seafarers UK are offered to charities and other organisations providing frontline and support services to merchant seafarers, UK fishers and their families. Applications should be made via email to grants@seafarers.uk. Guidance to applicants is available at www.seafarers.uk or phone 020 7932 0000.

The new Seafarers UK COVID-19 Emergency Fund of £2m is in addition to Seafarers UK’s existing annual budget of £2m grants to support delivery partner organisations. The extra £2m is in addition to new funding announced earlier this month by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust and The TK Foundation, both organisations that work in collaboration with Seafarers UK.

Friday 24 April

The Edward Gostling Foundation

The Edward Gostling Foundation supports charitable organisations that work with people living with a mental and/ or physical disability or long term illness. The Foundation has suspended its usual criteria for grant-making during the COVID-19 crisis, to concentrate on helping smaller charities providing frontline community services. It will be awarding grants of up to £10,000 to eligible charities with less than 6 months’ worth of free reserves, to support core operating costs. Click here for further details, guidelines and how to apply.

SEGRO

SEGRO has launched a Centenary Fund which will, in the short term, provide support to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2020, £1m is allocated to existing charity partners and to fund new projects providing urgent support to those particularly vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19. To be eligible, you must be a registered charity or community organisation with a turnover of less than £1m, and delivering a project to support vulnerable members of the community through the COVID-19 crisis in one of SEGRO’s key regions, which cover London, Thames Valley and the Midlands & surrounding area. Administration of funds is being carried out by the relevant Community Foundation for each region. See here for contact details and more info on how to apply.

Masonic Charitable Foundation

The Masonic Charitable Foundation has opened the Freemasons’ COVID-19 Community Fund, with a total of £95,241 raised as at 22 April 2020. Funds raised will support charities and projects that are helping people through these challenging times. The MCF will match ALL donations up to £1m.  Funds will be distributed to a registered charity or any other COVID-related activity, as agreed by the COVID-19 Regional Communications Group. The group has also launched a national United Grand Lodge of England Covid-19 relief chest, again which will receive matched donations from the MCF up to £1m. Provinces of the United Grand Lodge of England are being encouraged to identify local charities and projects that need financial assistance to make a real difference to people’s lives at this time, so do flag up COVID-19 relief efforts to Masonic Lodges or Lodge members in your area. Further details can be found here.

The Christina Mary Hendrie Trust

Are you a charitable body in Scotland or Canada working with children, young people and/ or the elderly and have received a donation from The Christina Mary Hendrie Trust in the past? If so, you may be eligible for additional funding from the charity if your beneficiaries have been directly or indirectly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The Trustees have temporarily changed their usual applications process to make decisions about gifting before their next meeting in October. Get in touch if you need funds before then with a covering letter explaining your work, the amount you’re requesting and the immediate impact that this will have on your charity and the people you work with, including a copy of your most recent accounts. For further information, see here.

Thursday 23 April

National Survivor User Network

The National Survivor User Network (NSUN) is a network of people who experience mental distress who are working to influence policy, practice and perceptions of mental health in the UK. The NSUN is administering a new fund with grants of up to £1,000 to support peer support, community action and mutual aid for mental health during Covid-19.

This fund is part of the Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund (CMHRF) administered by Mind that was announced on 16^th April. The CMHRF was set up for lager charities and community interest companies and offers grants of between £20,000 and £50,000.

This smaller fund is open to user-led organisations and smaller, unconstituted groups in England who are supporting those in their community living with mental health issues, trauma and distress during the Coronavirus pandemic. The fund is to support the activities of these groups by, for example, providing the means to purchase an annual Zoom subscription to allow groups to meet online, create a website to reach more people, or print mental health pamphlets for people in your neighbourhood.

Unconstituted groups have historically been left out of funding opportunities like the CMHRF so it is wonderful to see a specific fund set up with community groups and user-led organisations in mind.

To apply for a grant, your group needs to be a member of NSUN which is free for user-led organisations and community groups. The fund will be open by the end of April.

The Sylvia Adams Charitable Trust

The Sylvia Adams Charitable Trust has changed its grants policy for the time being in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s currently offering small, one-off payments of up to £5,000 in unrestricted funding under its ‘Early years’ preventative work in England and Wales’ strand. Applications are welcomed from small and medium sized charities (with incomes below £750,000) that can demonstrate the likelihood of increased demand for their services and/ or can demonstrate a loss of anticipated income attributable to the current pandemic.

Further details including examples of projects currently being funded can be found here; and full application instructions are here. Hurry if you think you’re eligible to apply, though, as the closing date for this round is 28 April 2020.

Wednesday 22 April

ITF Seafarers’ Trust has pledged £1 million to support seafarers and maintain welfare services that have been hit by COVID-19. The ITF Seafarers’ Trust COVID-19 Fund has been set up for a limited period, with two main purposes; to provide fast grant payments for specific projects that will alleviate hardship, stress and isolation of seafarers and their families; and to fund the maintenance of welfare services for seafarers while COVID-19 is causing instability. The grants are for emergency needs that can’t be met from elsewhere, and the charity states that regional, national and global solutions are more likely to be supported. For more information on eligibility and how to apply, click here.

The Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust, Seafarers UK and trusted partners have set up a rapid-response initiative to combat disruption caused by COVID-19. Fishers working in the trade have been hit badly by the closure of restaurants and fish markets across the country and overseas. The funds aim to support the seafood supply chain, so fishers can keep working and maintain a vital fresh food supply for the British public.

The COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant Programme, offering grants from a pot of £500,000 to help fishing and seafood businesses and food charities to seek diversification opportunities; promote the consumption or sale of local seafood; and provide community meals using seafood. The deadline for applications is 7 May 2020 and more details, including the types of grants available and how to apply, can be found here.

The Childhood Trust is launching its £2.5m Champions for Children fund to support vulnerable children and young people across London affected by Coronavirus. Charities can now sign up for this match-funding campaign to raise unrestricted funds. Charities recruit pledgers from their own network, and then raise funds during an online campaign taking place between 23 and 30 June. Their pledgers and The Childhood Trust will then match what’s raised; so if a charity raises £30,000, they will receive a further £30,000 (£15,000 from their pledgers; £15,000 from The Childhood Trust) at the end of campaign. For further details on how the campaign will work and to sign up, click here.

Tuesday 21 April

LandAid

LandAid has launched a Covid-19 Emergency Fund for its existing charity partners during the Coronavirus pandemic. The fund is open to applications for grants of up to £10,000 for immediate relief of the effects of the Covid-19 crisis. LandAid, the property industry charity, funds charities and projects working with homeless youth. They fund the LandAid House campaign which provides homes for young people and last year they created 511 homes for homeless youth. Through their partners in the property industry they were able to support over 2,500 young people into work in 2019.

The grants from the Covid-19 Emergency Fund could go to cover basic, emergency and humanitarian needs of young people, as well as support for front-line key workers to keep them safe. Charities who are already working with LandAid can fill out an application form available on their website for emergency funding. Applications shouldn’t take longer than an hour to fill out and applications are reviewed every Wednesday with grants being distributed on Fridays.

Emergency Funding for Clubs and Leagues from the England and Wales Cricket Board

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced a number of measures to support cricket clubs and leagues during this crisis, including two new emergency support schemes as well as £40m being made immediately available to clubs through the early distribution of funds. In total, £61 million has been available to support professional and recreational cricket during the Covid-19 crisis.

The ECB has announced an Emergency Loan Scheme to help clubs cover any shortfall in essential day-to-day running and maintenance costs they experience during the Covid-19 lockdown. Clubs with a junior section can apply for an amount between £1,000 and £5,000, clubs that are adult-only can apply for a loan of between £1,000 and £3,000.

Clubs that are unable to take out an Emergency Loan due to their own constitution or articles are eligible to apply for a Return to Cricket Grant. Clubs that only have an adult section are able to apply or grants of up to £1,000, Leagues (open-age or junior) are able to apply for up to £2,000, and clubs with a junior section are able to apply for up to £3,000. Clubs and Leagues need to contact their County Cricket Board to discuss their application.

Guidance for both the Emergency Loan and Grant is available on the ECB website.

The Arsenal Foundation

The Arsenal Foundation has set up a COVID-19 Local Community Response Fund, donating £100,000 to local charities and organisations that are supporting those most in need during the coronavirus crisis. Applicants should be running projects in Islington, Camden, Hackney, Barnet, Walthamstow and/ or Hertsmere (the charity’s current areas of operation). The application form can be found on its website here and once completed, submitted by email to: TheArsenalFoundation@arsenal.co.uk.

Among a host of other activities Arsenal FC is undertaking to support its local community at this time, the Foundation has also redirected £50,000 already earmarked for community initiatives to Islington Giving’s Crisis Fund.

Monday 20 April

The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland announced last week that it had been delighted to award £133,571 to charities supporting their local communities during the COVID-19 outbreak. It adds that both its small and medium grant programmes are still open for applications, and any COVID-related applications designed to support the community during the crisis are being prioritised and turned round as quickly as possible. Both programmes are open to charities with incomes of less than £1m, and application forms with guidance on completing them are available on the Foundation’s website here.

Colyer-Fergusson Charitable Trust, a grant-maker that funds charities and churches in Kent, is encouraging charities and community organisations facing a funding crisis due to coronavirus to apply for emergency funding through its ‘Investing in Communities’ grants programme. Funds are available under the Stabilising strand of the scheme – providing grants for basic running or core costs, or any costs associated with meeting the challenges of the coronavirus epidemic. Priority is given to applications for grants that will promote the sustainability of the organisations involved. The Trust’s team are working hard to make sure all funding applications are processed as quickly as possible. Further details and how to apply are here.

The Shanly Foundation has set up a Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund of £150,000 to help organisations who are working directly against the Covid-19 pandemic. The Shanly Foundation primarily support community organisations in the counties outside North, West and South London such as scouting and guide groups, and local charities. In light of the Cornavirus pandemic they are now only accepting applications from organisations who are directly involved in the fight against Covid-19, or who are supporting the most vulnerable during it. You can apply to the Emergency Response Fund here.

Friday 17 April

The Peter Stebbings Memorial Charity

The Peter Stebbings Memorial Charity has posted very helpful advice on its website for existing grantees here, including guidance on reallocation of grant funds in these exceptional circumstances. In addition, while the charity doesn’t have unlimited resources, it may be able to offer emergency funding to its previous grant recipients from the last five years. If this applies to your organisation, send an initial enquiry by email – further details here. Outside of COVID-19 emergency funding, the Trust welcomes new applications from charities that meet its criteria – see here for further details, deadlines and the online application form.

Social Investment Business (SIB), alongside Big Society Capital and other social investment partners, will be managing the £25 million Resilience & Recovery Loan Fund (RRLF) providing repayable finance to charities and social enterprises directly affected by COVID-19.

• RRLF will offer emergency loans with flexibility in terms, including: 12-month interest-free and no arrangement fee, with no personal guarantees required.
• The fund provides access to the existing Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme. SIB will issue the loan, working initially with delivery partners Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank and Social and Sustainable Capital.
• The initial £25 million will be provided by Big Society Capital, who is aiming to repurpose up to a further £50 million to address the needs of charities and social enterprises. · More information on the RRLF can be found here.

The Will Charitable Trust

The Will Charitable Trust has made emergency funding available to charities who have previously received grants from them. The Will Charitable Trust is a grant making charity that supports charities that provide care and services for blind people, provide long-term care for people with learning disabilities, and care for people suffering from cancer and their families.

Grants of up to £5,000 are available for charities who have previously received funding from the Trust, with further funds for larger grants being available from May. The Trust is expecting small local charities who can demonstrate an urgent need for emergency funding to make applications. The funds awarded will be paid quickly so that they can make an immediate impact.

Charities who are eligible for funding should email the addresses given on their website.

Mind

In March, the Department of Health and Social Care announced a £5 million pot to help mental health charities support people during the Coronavirus pandemic. The fund is administered by Mind and is open for applications as of April 16th.

Grants of £20,000 or £50,000 are available for projects lasting up to 12 months with details of grants for smaller organisations being available from Monday 20th April. The application process is a fast track assessment with applications being assessed every few weeks. Grants will be administered until funds run out.

Information about the application process can be found on their website, applications need to be submitted via Flexigrant which charities can register with through their website. Applicants are invited to apply any time and applications should take no longer than an hour to complete.

Thursday 16 April

Cloudesley, an Islington-based charity, is a signatory to the London Funders’ Statement on COVID-19, guaranteeing increased flexibility to grantees during the coronavirus outbreak. The charity has also issued a statement on its website announcing the introduction of Emergency Grant Funds to help individuals, voluntary organisations and churches in Islington to respond to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. For further information, see the following sections of its website, or contact the team via grants@cloudesley.org.uk:

• Support for Islington residents
• Health grants for organisations
• Support for Islington churches

Although the Cloudesley staff are working remotely, they can still be contacted by email or phone.

Talbot Village Trust

The Talbot Village Trust is a grant giving trust supporting charities in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area. On April 6^th they announced the launch of a £1 million fund to aid charities and voluntary organisations providing critical support to the local community during the Coronavirus outbreak.

The maximum amount charities can apply for is £50,000, and there is no lower limit. The funding will be distributed in five rounds with charities being allowed to repeatedly apply. Organisations are able to apply for retrospective funding to cover costs already incurred by their urgent response to Coronavirus.

To apply for a grant, download the application form from their website and email to the address given.

The Hunter Foundation

A good news story: Sir Tom Hunter of The Hunter Foundation has announced he will match 100% of funds raised by the Glasgow Kiltwalk to help those most in need. The Glasgow Kiltwalk event was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but the organisers urged would-be participants to keep fundraising for local charities anyway. Over £720,000 was raised in total, and with Sir Tom and his Foundation’s generous contribution, 530 Scottish charities hit by the coronavirus outbreak will now receive a share of the £1.4m pot.

South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation

South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation has launched a fund to support charities and community groups as they respond to the Coronavirus pandemic in their local communities. The fund is to distribute the money raised from the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal to charities, voluntary groups and social enterprises in South Yorkshire with grants of up to £5,000.

The aim of the fund is to support community organisations that are working to mitigate the immediate effects of Coronavirus, and to support the recovery of their communities in the coming weeks and months. Priority will be given to organisations supporting the most isolated and vulnerable groups such as: older people, people with disabilities, people with mental health needs, people on low income and families with young children.

To apply, complete the online application form available on their website, or email grants@sycf.org.uk and include a telephone number.

Wednesday 15 April

Bauer Radio Cash for Kids

The Bauer radio station charity Cash for Kids has launched an appeal in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. Part crowd-funded and part corporation and charity backed, the fund is for low-income families struggling in light of the Coronavirus. The appeal will create a fund which will be used to give grants to help families cover basic essential such as food and heating.

The Fund is open to community groups and service providers who support vulnerable children. More information can be found about the eligibility criteria on their website. To support the appeal or apply for a grant, visit their website and select your location on their map.

SWARM Collective

The Sex Worker Advocacy and Resistance Movement (SWARM Collective) has set up a hardship fund for in-person sex workers who are in, or at immediate risk of, financial crisis as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. Thousands of sex workers across the UK have seen their income stop overnight as a result of the lockdown pushing many of them into extreme financial hardship. Sex workers are already a stigmatised and disadvantaged group in society and for many of them, Coronavirus poses a severe and immediate threat to their safety and survival.

The hardship fund will be giving out grants at a flat rate of £200 per person until the fund dries up. Once the initial fund has dried up, applicants will be placed on a waiting list until more funds are raised. To receive a grant, you must be an in-person sex worker without any savings. Applicants can apply by filling out a Google form available on the website and will be asked to prove they are a sex worker in an uninvasive and respectful manner, either by proving details of their online advertising profile, or a phone call.

You can donate to the fund here.

Elton John Aids Foundation

The Elton John Aids Foundation has set up a Covid-19 Emergency Fund supporting initiatives that provide solutions to the specific challenges brought about by the pandemic to people living with, or at severe risk of, HIV/AIDS. The fund is intended for community based organisations who will implement life-saving interventions for communities suffering with, or at risk from, HIV/AIDS.

Applications are open to organisations who have received a grant from the Elton John AIDS Foundation since January 2017 who anticipate their solution will last up to six months. Grants will be for initiative who expect their expenditure to be between £10,000 and £50,000. A full breakdown of what is expected from applications can be found here in their Requests for Proposals document.

You can donate to their fund here.

The Rank Foundation

The Rank Foundation has launched an Emergency Fund and a Resilience Fund, initially solely for its existing network of current and past beneficiaries. However, it is currently reviewing its Pebble Grants programme criteria to allow for wider, public access – keep an eye on the charity’s website for news of this. In the meantime, for members of RankNet, the Emergency Fund offers immediate grants of up to £750 for equipment, technology or memberships, while the Resilience Fund offers grants to cover cashflow, fundraising and loss of income challenges relating to COVID-19, including significant, unplanned demand on services. For more information, see here.

Tuesday 14 April

London Community Response Fund, Wave 2

Wave 1 of funding from the London Community Response Fund has now closed to applicants and Wave 2 has opened. As of April 9^th, two funding programmes are available with wave 2; the crisis response programme and the delivering differently programme.

The Crisis Response programme is for grants of up to £10,000 to enable organisations to meet the immediate needs of their communities, such as food and essentials and short-term staffing costs.

The Delivering Differently programme is for grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 to enable organisations to change the way in which they work to meet the needs of their communities under the lockdown conditions. This can be from switching to digital modes of communication, to redeploying staff to allow organisations to meet increased demand.

The Fund may consider grants above £50,000 but there will need to be a strong rationale in applications for this.

Guidance for how to apply for these grants can be found here, and the application page can be found here.

Southwalk Community Response Fund

United St Saviours, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity, Peter Minet Trust and Southwalk Charities have pooled resources and have earmarked a combined total of £455,000 in emergency funding for Southwalk communities.

The Southwalk Community Response Fund is being administered by Unites St Saviour’s Charity but all applications will go through the London Community Response Fund in order to make the application process simpler for applicants.

The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust

The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust was established to provide for medical research and medicine generally, but also donates towards appeals of a humanitarian nature. In response to COVID-19, the trust is offering flexibility for all current grantees, as well as welcoming applications for grants of up to £1,500 from eligible small charities through its Ann Rylands scheme, the details of which can be found here.

If you are a hospice, the charity’s Hospice Fund is due to open on 1 July 2020 – further details on eligibility and terms of grants are available here.

Standard Life Foundation

The Standard Life Foundation has opened a new fast track grant scheme in light of the Coronavirus, funding work that relates directly to the pandemic. The grant programme is for projects that can be started in the new few weeks and tackle financial problems and improve living standards for those on low-to-middle incomes in the UK. More information about their funding guidelines can be found here.

The Foundation anticipates that some projects may only last a few weeks or months, but that some may continue for longer. The Grants will range from £5,000 to larger amounts.

Existing grant recipients are eligible to apply, as are organisations who are already being considered for their current funding round. Organisations who have previously been rejected to receive funding can also apply.

Information on how to apply can be found on their Coronavirus funding page and applications should be submitted via email.

Thursday 9 April

The Evelyn Trust

The Trust has made funding of up to £300,000 available to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus for applications for COVID-19 related medical research projects that will:

• have an impact on the fight to contain the pandemic;
• assist COVD-19 patients to recover;
• will improve understanding of how to contain the virus; or
• will provide a deeper understanding of how to manage the hospital environment.

In addition, the charity has set aside £40,000 of emergency funding for up to eight projects from local Cambridgeshire charities working on health and well-being in the community. Successful proposals will support online, home delivery or outreach services that are designed to support families or individuals in need who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.

The Oakdale Trust provides funding for charities and voluntary bodies working in Wales on social and community projects, penal reform and medical support. For the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, the trustees will provide support to registered charitable organisations in Wales that are working to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on communities. The trustees will meet monthly to process grant applications, prioritising those that can demonstrate an immediate and pressing need. Applications should be submitted online via the charity’s website, specifying the new COVID-19 grant programme. The first deadline for applications is Wednesday, 22 April 2020.

The Book Trade Charity has exceeded its fundraising target of £50,000 through a crowdfunder. Nearly 350 donations were made to fund a programme of hardship grants for booksellers affected by the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and economic downturn. The total has been matched by Penguin Random House, meaning over £100,000 is now available for hardship grants to booksellers, which The Book Trade Charity is administering. For more information on the charity, see its website here.

The Bring Joy Foundation, has launched a campaign to support seniors who are socially isolated throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Donations can be made via justgiving.com/campaign/HomeIsolation. Funds will be distributed to local community groups and Home Instead Senior Care offices to supply craft materials, activities, communication tools and assistive technology to seniors to support them in their isolation. Grants are also available for seniors facing extra challenges during this time due to illness or disability. Local community groups, either registered or unregistered, that have had to suspend meetings can apply for this funding by clicking on the ‘Apply’ button on the homepage of the charity’s website.

The Teaching Staff Trust provides financial support when something unexpected has gone wrong for individuals that have worked within the educational sector for at least five years. The Trust is aiming to continue operations throughout the COVID-19 crisis, and applicants can include teachers, teaching assistants, nursery workers, caretakers and lunch supervisors. Grant payments can be used to help with bills, household costs, travel or other essentials. The application form can be completed via its website.

Wednesday 8 April

Barclays Foundation

Barclays Bank has announced the establishment of the Barclays Foundation, which will provide a #COVID19 Community Aid Package of £100 million to charities working to support vulnerable people impacted by the pandemic. Find out more.

The P H Holt Emergency Fund is now open for applications (8 April 2020). In response to the pandemic, the charity has opened an emergency fund, welcoming applications from small- and medium-sized Merseyside charities. Funding can be to help deliver new programmes to reach people affected by the pandemic, or to help keep vital charity services running.

To be eligible for an emergency grant, you must be a registered charity in Merseyside with an income under £1 million.

Grants start at £1,000, with most awards falling between £5,000-£10,000. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. To apply online, go to the charity’s website here. 

The Dulverton Trust is prioritising grant applications for its June and October Board Meetings from charities that meet its guidelines and are either (a) well placed to deliver vital services to vulnerable communities affected by the current COVID-19 crisis (previous grant recipients will receive priority, but new applicants may be considered); or (b) charities with which it has an existing relationship and need support to overcome funding challenges caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

The trust supports UK charities/ CIOs registered with the Charity Commission or OSCR that are working to produce significant impact in youth opportunities, general welfare, conservation, preservation, Africa or peace and humanitarian support. When considering applications, the charity is keen to know whether applicants have already explored all the options for financial support, including government schemes and emergency funds before seeking funding from the Trust. Further details are available on the website here.

Young Women’s Trust

The Young Women’s Trust has set up an Emergency Fund in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. The IFS has reported that young, low-paid women will be the worst hit during the Covid-19 lockdown as they’re more likely to work in a sector forced to stop trading because of the lockdown, such as in hospitality, retail or transport.

Young women can’t apply for funding themselves, but can be referred to the fund by Women’s Aid, Women’s Resource Centre, or Women for Refugee Women. The charity’s partners are identifying women who would benefit most from the fund, which will provide relief payments of £150 to young women ages 18-30 who are facing financial crisis and struggling to afford utilities, food, or rent.

You can donate to the fund here.

Rosa UK 

Rosa UK is trying to fundraise £250,000 to enable them to continue the vital work they do to support organisations providing essential services for women. Rosa is a grant making charity that funds grassroots women’s organisations such as Believe UK, Good Night Out, and Middle Eastern Women and Society Organisation.

These charities are crucial during the current pandemic, especially as domestic abuse levels are rising. The National Domestic Abuse helpline has received 25% more calls since lockdown and domestic murders have increased. Like many charities, the demand for their services has increased at a time where their funding has dramatically decreased and Rosa UK is trying fill this hole with crowd funding, which you can support here.

Tuesday 7 April

Support Adoption For Pets 

The largest grant giving charity in the UK who gives to animal welfare charities has announced that they will be giving an additional £400,000 to local animal sanctuaries suffering as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The money has already reached sanctuaries in need, with the hedgehog centre at Wirral Animal Sanctuary receiving £5k and Rescue Us receiving £13k. Support Adoption For Pets is identifying themselves which charities they will support, but their application page is still open on their website for sanctuaries wishing to apply for funding.

Pets at Home, their parent charity, is donating an additional £300,000 as part of their VIP Lifelines scheme in the form of vouchers for sanctuaries to spend in store for animal food.

Further BWB free online seminars

Coronavirus Act: what are the implications for landlords and tenants?

Bates Wells’ real estate team is hosting a webinar to take you through the various property issues for charities arising from the Coronavirus crisis, including Landlord and Tenant matters, implications of the Coronovirus Act 2020, rent-freezes, break clauses, business rates and matters relating to residential properties. Register here.

Coronavirus and your charity – key legal issues to consider

As the coronavirus situation has escalated over the last week, we have seen a range of legal questions emerge for charities across the sector. This webinar, in association with NCVO, will explore the headline topics in brief, with a half-hour Q&A session. The Q&A will answer legal and regulatory questions you may have about the current environment. We’ll also be signposting to helpful advice and resources available online. Register here.

Ulster Garden Villages Ltd

Ulster Garden Villages has provided £70,000 matched funding to complement the £70,000 contribution from The Community Fund Northern Ireland to the Coronavirus Community Fund. Offering grants of up to £1,000 of emergency funding, it will support community organisations working with older people (aged 50 and over) and help them to deliver support around emerging issues relating to the virus.  In recognition of community need and urgency of response, the Foundation are working at speed with successful groups receiving funding within a week. Groups wishing to apply to the fund can do so here.

The Ballinger Charitable Trust

The Ballinger Charitable Trust has paused its grant application systems for the time being. Instead it has small amounts of money to grant to current and past grantees who are actively responding to help the North East England community they serve through the impacts of Covid 19. Grant monies can be put towards any additional cost of Covid 19 response work, with priority currently being given to support of older people, hospital discharges, tackling domestic abuse, and food and fuel support of local community families in disadvantaged areas. Grants will range from a few hundred pounds to no more than £1,000. To register interest, email andrew@ballingercharitabletrust.org.uk.

Buttle UK

During the current health crisis, Buttle UK is still fully operational, and committed to maintaining the distribution of its Chances for Children grants as closely to normal as possible. For many of the children and young people it supports, this crisis is amplifying the difficulties that already exist in their lives, increasing their isolation and forcing them to spend many more hours in homes that lack the bare essentials and comforts most of us take for granted.

The charity’s Chances for Children grants will, as always, be targeted at improving the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people and their capacity to engage in education and learning. However, they will be tailored to meet current and changing needs as the immediate, and longer-term, impact of the crisis becomes clear. For example, due to restrictions placed on the UK population because of COVID-19 Buttle UK will not be providing funding for leisure activities, family days out, counselling or anything that involves being in the community for the foreseeable future. For the duration of these restrictions the support will focus more on:

• Maintaining educational activity and stimulus within the home environment
• Establishing and or maintaining internet access and electronic communications
• Household essentials

Applications can be made in the usual way, via a support worker – more details here.

Monday 6 April

Sussex Crisis Fund 

The Sussex Crisis Fund, has reached £400k and has already funded 14 groups to deliver food parcels and help isolated older people. Find out more. 

Bolton’s Fund 

Grants of up to £1,000 are now available for community organisations working in Bolton through the Covid-19 Resilience Fund. Find out more. 

The Steel Charitable Trust , which counts promotion of health and social & economic disadvantage among its objects (as well as arts and heritage; education; & the environment), has made a comprehensive statement on its current grant-making policy, which is constantly under review as the COVID-19 situation develops. Currently:

1. Applicants seeking emergency funding should apply in the first instance to their local Community Foundation (Luton & Beds), which the trust is fully supporting;
2. If unsuccessful, applicants can apply directly to the Trust for emergency funding.
3. If the applicants are from outside the Luton and Beds area and already in receipt of a grant from the Trust, they can approach trust direct for emergency funding;
4. If they have no current grant and are from outside Luton & Beds, they can apply for emergency funding through the normal channels.

DEADLINE 30 APRIL 2020

Find out more.

The Schroder Charity Trust  supports education & young people, health, communities, environment & conservation, heritage, arts and culture, international development and the Armed Forces. Their grant making policy has been amended in the light of COVID-19:

• Applicants with pending applications submitted before COVID-19 can update their outstanding application with a brief explanation of the impact on their charity, how their charity is responding to that impact; and how a grant from the Schroder Charity Trust will help with that response.
• New applications are being accepted currently and a question specifically relating to the impact of COVID-19 on he charity and its beneficiaries has been included. Applications will be reviewed in June and results notified by end June.

Find out more.

Made in Hackney 

Made in Hackney (MIH) started as a plant based community cooking school, but is now delivering free food to families in Hackney impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. They have raised over £60,000 from crowd fundraising and charity supporters that will enable them to provide free food to Hackney residents for 8 weeks. The food parcels are delivered by bicycle between 12noon and 6pm on weekdays. Their website provides advice on how to set up your own Covid-19 Feeding Programme, allows individuals to refer themselves or another to receive food, and has information on other Hackney Covid-19 support services.

Made in Hackney’s work pre-Covid was already having a massive impact on the local community, with 87% of people who attended their cooking classes reporting that they now ate less processed food and 89% of people had learned about organic food and where to buy it. Additionally, 91% of attendees said that the classes had helped them feel more connected to their community, and 97% of volunteers had said that volunteering with MIH had improved their overall mood.

It’s wonderful seeing charities being so fluid and adaptable in such challenging circumstances. Made in Hackey has managed to utilise their skills and resources to provide a lifeline for hundreds of families in their community during this international crisis. You can follow their inspirational work on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Friday 3 April

Sutton Coldfield Charitable Trust

The Charitable Trust is working in partnership with Royal Sutton Town Council & Age Concern Birmingham to support voluntary, community & faith groups across SC. The partnership has created a dedicated website which brings together all kinds of accurate, reliable information relevant on CV-19 for local organisations delivering help and for residents, and the charitable trust is welcoming funding applications from not-for-profit groups. Full info here.

BWB free webinar on Tuesday 7 April

Whilst not funding, this is free help relating to any legal questions about furloughing emerging from charities across the sector. This free webinar will explore the latest updates to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and will be followed by a Q&A (if you can’t make the date, register anyway and the session will be available afterwards for you). Register here.

Clothworkers’ Emergency Capital Programme (CECP)

The Clothworkers’ Emergency Capital Programme (CECP) will award small capital grants of up to £5,000 for essential capital items to adapt or increase services in response to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Priority will be given to organisations supporting vulnerable and ‘at risk’ groups within their normal program areas this period.

Please note that this programme is not open to charities whose beneficiaries are based in London. Clothworkers will be announcing separate initiatives for London charities over the coming days. 

They aim to make quick decisions on applications. However, if they receive a large volume of applications it may take up to two weeks for a decision to reach you.

Key features of the fund:

• Applications are only open to charities whose beneficiaries are not based in London
• They will award capital grants of up to £5,000 (but will not award grants equal to more than 50% of your annual income)
• They aim to communicate a decision within one week (but it may take up to two weeks)
• Capital projects that are planned as part of your organisation’s ordinary course of business are not eligible; for these you may wish to review the What We Fund page for our Open Grants Programmes

Key organisational eligibility:

• Income of less than £2 million per annum
• Work of the applicant organisation must fall within Clothworkers’ nine programme areas
• They do not support organisations that promote a particular religion or that only provide services to people of a particular religion

You must demonstrate your not-for-profit status in the application form and your accounts. Clothworkers fund the following types of charitable and not-for-profit organisations:

• Charities registered with the Charity Commission including Community Interest Organisations (CIO)
• Community Interest Companies (limited by guarantee without share capital)
• ‘Exempt Charities’ (in which case we require details of your principal regulator and/or evidence of HMRC exemption)
• Special Schools

For full details, click here.

Thursday 2 April

Sport England launch £195m Coronavirus funding support package

Sport England are making up to £195 million of funding available to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis.

The package, which is a combination of National Lottery and government funding, is made up of the following:

• Open now: £20 million Community Emergency Fund, which will be opened immediately for clubs and community organisations to bid into. Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available
• £5 million pot for existing partners to bid into if they’re facing specific financial difficulty
• An additional £55 million to support our sector during an ongoing period of restrictions, to fund new and innovative ways to keep people active and, when the period of restrictions is over, to help organisations get back to business and adjust to a different environment
• £115 million rollover of current funding into 2021/22 to give long term certainty to over 100 well established partners who play a vital role in the delivery of sport and physical activity in England.

Alongside this, they’ve also agreed to consider requests to release six months of the coming year’s funding (50% of awards) to their partners, meaning additional funding will be available sooner.

The package follows their recent decision to offer major flexibilities to those who currently receive funding – including the ability to change timings, key performance indicators, targets and conditions, and redirect money to new activity in response to coronavirus.

Find out more and apply here:

National Lottery Heritage Fund launches £50m emergency fund to support the heritage sector due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

The £50m fund will be available for grants of between £3,000 and £50,000.

It is available to organisations across the full breadth of heritage, including historic sites, industrial and maritime heritage, museums, libraries and archives, parks and gardens, landscapes and nature.

Organisations which have received funding in the past and are either a current grantee, or still under contract following a previous grant, can apply.

Priority will be given where:

• there is limited or no access to other sources of support
• where heritage is most at risk
• where an organisation is at risk of severe financial crisis due to COVID-19

Find out more here

Tuesday 31 March

New £500 million Economic Resilience Fund for Wales

The Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced a new £500m fund to support businesses and charities experiencing a sharp drop in trading as a result of the coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic. The Fund aims to plug gaps in the support schemes already announced by the UK Government, and will provide a mix of loans at favourable interest rates and grants to support organisations’ cash flow.

Monday 30 March updates

Charities Aid Foundation launches Coronavirus Emergency Fund

CAF has launched a £5m fund to help smaller charitable organisations in the UK affected by the impact of COVID19. Grants of up to £10,000 are available. This is intended as a rapid response fund; CAF aim to make payments to selected organisations within 14 days. There is an online application form where applicants can register and complete their application.

National Lottery Community Fund adapts approach to respond to COVID19

The NLCF is changing its approach to help grantees and applicants . All funding decisions for the next six months (up to £300m of National Lottery funding) will be devoted to addressing needs related to the current crisis. NLCF will prioritise activities specifically geared to supporting communities through the crisis and to help organisations overcome liquidity issues, by delivering faster payments for existing grant holders and applicants.

Emergency funding for organisations

Third Sector Resilience Fund – Scotland

The Third Sector Resilience Fund (TSRF) is a £20m emergency fund for charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations working in Scotland. The fund will support organisations that already deliver services and products but find themselves in financial difficulties directly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The primary intention of the fund is to help third sector organisations to stabilise and manage cash flows over this difficult period.

Steve Morgan Foundation – Covid-19 Emergency Fund

The fund will provide up to £1 million of funding per week for an initial 12 week period. It is open to charities and not-for-profit companies in the foundation’s catchment area (North Wales, Merseyside, Cheshire and North Shropshire) and will help with the costs of emergency services to help people affected with the virus. It will also help charities experiencing a loss of fundraising revenue to stay in business.

Arts Council England

The Arts Council is making £160 million of emergency funding available to ensure organisations and individuals working in the cultural sector are protected during the Coronavirus crisis. The council has also changed the funding requirements for individuals and organisations currently in receipt of its funding.

National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal

The appeal has now raised almost £12m from donations by the public, companies and other charities. The trust will work with community foundations to distribute funds to local charities supporting people affected by the outbreak.

London Community Response Fund

The fund, which will be coordinated by London Funders, will be available to organisations facing immediate financial pressures and uncertainty because of the Covid-19 outbreak. The fund now stands at over £5 million, with further funders expected to announce their contributions in the coming days.

Neighbourly

The fund is backed by several of Neighbourly’s partner businesses, such as M&S, Lidl, Aldi and Coca-Cola, who have collectively contributed £500,000 and 500 volunteer days available to organisations in need. Currently, only existing Neighbourly charities and community groups can apply for funding. Eligible organisations can apply for micro-grants of up to £400 for ‘good causes that are helping communities affected by the new coronavirus outbreak’.

Forever Manchester Community Support Fund

Forever Manchester has launched a Community Support Fund for grassroot community groups that are responding to the impact of Covid-19 by helping those most affected. Awards of up to £1,000 are available.

Salford Crisis Fund

The Salford Crisis Fund is a responsive fund offering VCSE organisations grants of up to £500 to help address immediate need arising from the coronavirus crisis.

Community Foundations

Community Foundations will be distributing funds from the National Emergencies Trust and are in the process of setting up emergency response funds. Check your local Community Foundation’s website for further information.

Responses from major funders

National Lottery Community Fund

The fund has assured recent grant-holders that it will be flexible, in terms of accommodating changes to any timelines and reporting deadlines, accommodating changes to activity in response to the current climate and critical needs. Any changes made to projects can be reconciled at a later date. The fund also stresses that it ‘will support you and your teams through this crisis’ by continuing to pay staff salary, to enable an organisation to support members of staff who are sick, have caring responsibilities or need to self-isolate.

Garfield Weston Foundation

The foundation is in process of rearranging its pipeline to ensure that priority is given to activities providing immediate relief for vulnerable people and those experiencing hardship as a result of the pandemic. It has provided ‘immediate and simple guidance’ to charities wanting to alter the terms of their grant and is offering flexibility around timescales and reporting. If your organisation has a pending application submitted prior to 20th March 2020, the foundation will be in touch by email to confirm that the proposal still reflects your organisation’s current needs. Any amendments should be communicated to the foundation by 6th April.

The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation

The foundation promises to continue to support its beneficiaries through this uncertain time with a flexible approach to funding. Grant holders are encouraged to contact their grant manager if they would like to move payment or reporting dates, enquire about grants plus support and emergency top-up grants.

Comic Relief

Comic relief is committed to helping its beneficiaries through this crisis, by allowing its funded partners to adapt their activities, review timeframes and/or re-budget remaining funds. Grant-holders are advised to get in touch with their contact person to discuss how the pandemic is affecting their work and their team. The charity has also pledged that part of the funds raised through Sport Relief 2020 will be donated to organisations on the frontline of the response to the virus, working with some of the most vulnerable people likely to be affected.

Children in Need

The charity states they wish to be as helpful as possible during the coming weeks and understand there will be some disruption to activities. Communities, services or organisations receiving grants from Children in Need that have been affected by coronavirus can contact the organisation to discuss moving their reporting deadlines if they are struggling to meet them to agree a more realistic time. In addition, if grant recipients are unable to achieve the agreed outcomes they should discuss this with Children in Need to adapt their activities. The charity will be reasonable if funding needs to be moved between budget headings to ensure work can continue.

The Covid-19 FAQ section on the Children in Need website answers a number of specific questions grant recipients may have about the current situation.

The Sainsburys Family Trusts

The Sainsburys Family Trusts have given assurance to the organisations and projects that they fund that they will continue to receive support and that the funding is flexible and intended to help organisations deal with challenges.

The trust has signed the joint statement of support co-ordinated by London Funders. Organisations that are receiving funding can contact the trust by phone or email to discuss moving payments or reporting dates, flexing the timeframes for the delivery of outcomes or adapting activities if this could be helpful. As the office is working from home, there may be a small delay in response.

Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales

The foundation says it wants to make sure it supports its charities during this time in any way they can so work can be continued without any additional barriers.

Organisations may change the focus of their grant in order to respond to the impact of the coronavirus crisis on their service users, the Lloyds Bank foundation will support this. Those receiving core funding may use it in anyway needed to deliver services. Those receiving project funding should discuss with the foundation about using their funding to support their wider service users. Payments will not be withheld if outcomes for the year have not been met due to disruption from coronavirus. The foundation has said that in exceptional circumstances, if an annual payment is due but the monitoring report cannot be completed due to the disruption, the payment will still be released.

Requests to amend grant payments so that 50% of the total grant can be received in one year will be considered. Applications for funding can still be made through the website. Enhance support will be delivered through Skype or Zoom and could be provided on an urgent basis.

Organisations that have questions or concerns should contact their Foundation Manager or if they’re not sure who that is, contact the foundation’s team on 0370 411 1223 or enquiries@lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk. As the office will be shut, there may be some delays in communication but all requests will be answered as soon as possible.

Other resources

Coronavirus funders list

A list of resources and emergency funding provided by Ian McLintock, founder of the Charity Excellence Framework. Updated regularly.

Good Finance Covid-19 Resource Hub

Tools, resources and information for social enterprises and charities navigating Covid-19.

Project Everyone

A global virtual summit on 2nd April supporting charities through Covid-19.

SCVO Coronavirus Third Sector Information Hub

Resources and information (including funding) for charities, community groups, social enterprises and voluntary organisations in Scotland.