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COVID-19 – Funding opportunities

Posted on August 24, 2020

NEW* DEFRA Covid-19 Food and Essentials Grants

In order to meet immediate needs and help those who are struggling to afford food and essentials due to Covid-19, Hackney Council has been issued with funding from DEFRA. As key partners in the local effort to tackle food poverty, voluntary and community organisations working in this area are being invited to apply to the Covid-19 Food & Essentials Grants programme. This programme is designed to support organisations working to support Hackney residents with food and other essentials needed as a result of Covid-19 between July – September 2020.

It is anticipated that most grants to be in the region of £5,000, but they will consider applications up to £10,000 depending on the turnover of the organisation and the level of project activity. Volunteer-led and unconstituted organisations may receive grants of up to £1,000. Unusually they will consider retrospective funding.

Eligible costs could include:

·         the cost of ingredients

·         purchase of essential goods including health and sanitary goods

·         containers and delivery boxes

·         PPE for staff and volunteers, deep cleaning

·         volunteer and staff costs including salaries, on costs, expenses

·         organisational overheads including rent, office costs, stationery, utility bills (but not debt or interest payments)

·         costs for working in partnership including advice for partnership arrangements

Opens: 24 August 2020

Deadline: 7 September 2020 at 10:00 am

For further information and eligibility please follow: https://hackney.gov.uk/community-grants

(Posted 24 August)

Covid-19 Community Led Organisations Recovery Scheme

Covid-19 Community-Led Organisations Recovery Scheme offers grants up to £100,000 to community organisations in England who are facing financial difficulties caused by Covid-19. The scheme is aimed at organisations delivering services in their local community to support people who are at high risk from Covid-19, with an emphasis on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME)-led or BAME-supporting businesses.

The recovery scheme will open on Tuesday 28 July for applications from 10am till 1pm. And then for a further two rounds on Tuesday 4 August from 10am till 1pm and Tuesday 11 August from 10am till 1pm.

Community organisations in England who are facing financial difficulties caused by Covid-19. For more information about whether your community organisation will be eligible, please read the guidance notes.

Up to £100,000 grant and business support to:

  • help people and communities experiencing disproportionate challenge and difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 crisis
  • provide services and support for vulnerable people, for which there will be increased demand as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.

For further information and eligibility please follow: powertochange

(Posted 16 July)

National Lottery Awards 2020 Open for Nominations

This  year the annual National Lottery Awards will honour individuals and small groups of people who have made an extraordinary impact in their community, especially those who have adapted during the coronavirus pandemic

During the coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis, up to £600 million have been made available for projects so far. In recognition of the people that have made those projects happen, the National Lottery Awards 2020 will for the first time celebrate individuals and small groups of people rather than organisations.

To be eligible, all nominees must work or act for a National Lottery funded organisation or have received National Lottery funding.

Nominations can be made in the following categories:

  • Arts.
  • Education.
  • Health.
  • Environment.
  • Sport.
  • Heritage.
  • Community/Charity.
  • Young Hero (under 18s).

The winner in each category will receive a £3,000 cash prize for their organisation and a National Lottery Awards trophy.

Entry is free and nominations can be submitted by tweeting @LottoGoodCauses with a suggestion or by completing the nomination form, available on the National Lottery Awards website.

Deadline: 19 August 2020.

(Posted 15 July)

BBC Children in Need and Youth Futures Foundation

BBC Children in Need and Youth Futures Foundation are partnering to deliver Inspiring Futures, a £6 million programme to fund positive activities which support children and young people aged 10 – 24 to achieve their potential on their journey towards employment with a focus on improving employment prospects of children and young people who face discrimination or disadvantage to transform their young lives by unlocking their potential and addressing the root causes of youth unemployment.

The Inspiring Futures programme is open for applications from Friday 10th July until 11:30am on Friday 31st July, 2020.

Eligible organisations (including schools or educational bodies) will be able to apply for between £10,000 and £80,000 for work commencing in October 2020.

Funding will be for project and organisational costs, including planning and development for the future, and will support between 12 and 18 months of delivery.

For further details go to https://www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk/grants/inspiring-futures/

(Posted 15 July)

The Julia & Hans Rausing Trust

has today launched the Charity Survival Fund, £10 million made available to offset lost income due to Covid-19 by supporting core costs in this financial year.  They are currently particularly interested in supporting small and medium sized charities.  Applications received after the deadline of 5pm Monday 27 July will not be considered.

Criteria for eligibility are:

  • The organisation must be a charity registered in the UK;
  • The beneficial area of the charity must be within the UK;
  • There must be appropriate governance and management structures in place, with a minimum of three unrelated board members;
  • Charities must be able to produce accounts on request (audited where required) for the previous two financial years;
  • Charities should not have been in unplanned deficit in either of the previous two financial years that predated the outbreak of Covid-19 in the UK;
  • Charities must have experienced income loss (actual or predicted) in the current financial year (2020-2021) due to Covid-19;
  • Funding sought must be to support core costs of the charity in its usual work (though this may include revised ways of working due to Covid-19 and innovations/ learnings gained during lockdown, where the charity plans to continue these new ways of working). Funds should not be used for expansionary work, new initiatives, or capital projects.
  • Funding sought must be for use in the current financial year (2020-2021). Funds should not be put into reserves or set aside for longer term expenditure.
  • Charities must not have received other Covid-19 related funding from the Trust.
  • Charities must not hold a current unpaid (in full or in part) grant from the Trust.
  • Annual income must not be above £5,000,000 (calculated as average total income over the previous three financial years, excluding any year with reduced income due to Covid-19).
  • Schools, higher and further education institutions and local authority managed facilities (e.g. libraries, museums) are not eligible to apply.

 

The application is online, and therefore all information and necessary attachments should be prepared prior to beginning the application.  Required attachments include a 1-2 page cover letter, a 1-2 page case study, and a budget and cashflow forecast for Oct 2020- March 2021.  If your accounts are not available online, they ask for two years’ accounts.

The Trust prioritises three main areas of interest, as follows:

Health and Wellbeing

This includes charities working within the areas of disease and patient care; mental health and addiction recovery; disability, aged and palliative care.

Welfare and Education

This includes charities addressing poverty and disadvantage, especially in relation to young people; and also those working in areas such as food insecurity and criminal justice.

Arts and Culture

This includes charities working in the performing arts; independent (i.e. not local authority controlled) museums and galleries; heritage sites and historic buildings.

Priority will be given to charities that deliver frontline services and activities, rather than umbrella bodies, grant-giving bodies, or conduit organisations.

GRANT AMOUNTS

Charities may apply for grants up to the maximum indicated below, depending on charity size (measured by income).  The minimum amount that may be applied for is £1,000.

 

ANNUAL INCOME                            MAXIMUM GRANT

Up to £20,000                                    £5,000

£20,001 – £100,000                         £10,000

£100,001 – £250,000                        £50,000

£250,001 – £500,000                       £100,000

£500,001 – £5,000,000                   £250,000

 

OUTCOME

The Trust will contact successful applicants in September, followed by a public announcement listing the charities supported through the Fund.  Due to the number of applications expected, they will not notify unsuccessful applicants. Those who have not received notification by the end of September should assume they have been unsuccessful.

For full details please visit

https://www.juliahansrausingtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Charity-Survival-Fund-Guidance-for-Applicants-July-2020.pdf

(Posted 6 July)

London Community Response – New funding available

New funding announcement from the London Community Response

A new wave of funding has been announced from the London Community Response – a coalition of over 60 funders who are working together to make it easier for charities to get the resources that they need during these unprecedented times. So far over £20m has been distributed to civil society organisations across all 33 London boroughs.

What funding is available now?

Whatever priority area you are applying for funding for, you can apply for either a small or a large grant:

  • Small – grants of up to £10,000, using a simple application form, with decisions typically made within two to three weeks of you making an application; or
  • Large – grants of up to £50,000, involving a longer application form, with decisions typically made within six to eight weeks of you making an application.  In some circumstances we may consider grants above £50,000 but there must be a strong rationale in your application for this.

We expect these grants to cover up to six months of your costs for the work you are seeking funding for (from the time the grant is awarded), though it can be for a shorter period (e.g. activities over the summer).  Where possible we will offer unrestricted grants, though this is more likely if you are applying for a small grant.

We have three strands to the current funding programme – crisis, enable and adapt.  We will assess your application against the priority issues listed on the website.  In summary, the strands are:

  • Crisis – We know that the crisis won’t be over at the same time and in the same way for everyone – we will continue to offer funding to provide food, essentials and support through crisis.
  • Enable – We know that many people will be navigating changes to their lives – we will fund work that helps to prevent difficulties escalating, and that enables people to emerge from crisis.
  • Adapt – We know that civil society organisations have faced significant challenges during the crisis – we will fund work that helps groups to restart, adapt or collaborate for the future.

More information and a full list of eligible organisations can be found on the London Community Response guidance page.

Funding priorities

Through all the funding programmes available we will give particular priority to supporting:

  • Equity and inclusion – organisations led by and for marginalised communities and those most affected by the covid-19 crisis (particularly Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME); Deaf and Disabled; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+); and/or women’s-led groups);
  • Strong connections – groups who reach and connect with people at high risk of negative impacts from Covid-19 (in terms of health outcomes, as well as social and economic issues);
  • Smaller organisations – typically those with a turnover of up to £1m a year (though we welcome applications from grassroots and much smaller groups too).

What we are looking to fund?

We welcome applications from all parts of civil society, though our analysis highlights increased funding needs for groups working on: advice; arts and culture; children and young people; domestic abuse and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG); equity and inclusion; food; homelessness; infrastructure (civil society support); mental health and wellbeing; people at risk; and refugees and migrants.  You will be asked on the application form to indicate if you work is linked to one of these areas.

We have collated evidence and insight on the needs of communities, which is available in our resource hub, and are keen to ensure that funding supports people who are at risk of negative impacts from covid-19 – including BAME, LGBT, and Deaf and Disabled people and communities, women, people on low incomes and people living in more deprived areas.

Funding can be used for:

  • People – staffing and volunteer costs associated with delivering the work you are applying for;
  • Support – supervision and support for your team, including wellbeing and specialist support;
  • Equipment – any equipment you need to deliver this work that is not already in your budget;
  • Resources – any new software or training needed for your team to do their work;
  • Services – meeting the needs of the people you work for, including food and essentials, translation or interpreting services, or deep cleaning of accommodation (a small number of funders can also cover the costs of vouchers given to people to buy these items directly);
  • Overheads – direct additional costs (e.g. for home working), together with a proportionate contribution to your organisational costs (including your governance costs);
  • Partnership – staff time, professional fees, or support needed to enable collaboration; and
  • Development – contributions to capacity building, infrastructure and organisational development. 

When is the deadline? 

Applications will be considered in the order they are received.  We expect to stop taking applications under this wave of funding by the end of July – we will, however, monitor levels of applications and publish any final deadline on this website with at least one week’s notice before closing.

Spread the word…

It was announced in May that the London Community Response awarded funding to Ubele, Council of Somali Organisations, London Gypsy and Travellers, Inclusion London, Women’s Resource Centre and Consortium to ensure BAME, Deaf and Disabled, Women’s and LGBTQ+ led organisations are reached and supported by the London Community Response.

The above organisations will make sure to outreach to their constituent communities, and we encourage you to help spread the word too. Please forward this mailing to anyone in the sector that you think is eligible to apply for funding. We are also promoting the fund on our Twitter and LinkedIn pages. 

Apply now

Find out more at londoncommunityresponsefund.org.uk

(Posted 1 July)

New fund open for organisations who employ people from disadvantaged or vulnerable groups

The Social & Community Capital (S&CC) Coronavirus Response Fund is offering £1 million in grants to organisations across the UK who employ people from disadvantaged or vulnerable groups.

Organisations with an annual turnover between £50,000 to £1 million can apply for grants from £5,000 to £50,000. Applicants must not be a current Social & Community Capital customer.

This fund has a quick decision process and simple application form. Applications opened this Monday 22 June and will stay open for at least one week. The deadline may be extended depending on the number of applications received.

For further information and eligibility please follow:       coronavirus-response-fund

(Posted 23 June)

Government’s charity support package available this week

Yesterday, the government announced that small and medium-size charities will be able to apply for the £200m Coronavirus Community Support Fund on the National Lottery Community Fund website from Friday morning.

This new funding stream makes available £200m in Government funding that will be aimed primarily at small to medium organisations in England.

The Fund has two key objectives:

  1. To increase community support to vulnerable people affected by the COVID-19 crisis, through the work of civil society organisations.
  2. To reduce temporary closures of essential charities and social enterprises, ensuring services for vulnerable people impacted by COVID-19 have the financial resources to operate, and so reduce the burden on public services.

Grants will allow organisations to meet service costs, where they are experiencing increased demand and/or short-term income disruption. Grants will also allow organisations to refocus services to address more immediate beneficiary needs in light of COVID-19.

Please see our funding pages for further details and to apply – these will be on our website from 10am on Friday 22nd May.

The fund will open for applications at 10 am on Friday 22 May and NCVO are holding a webinar with the NLCF about how to apply. If you’re not already signed up to NCVO’s updates, you can do so here to be emailed the webinar information when it becomes available.

(Posted 21 May)

 JLC Social Care Assistance Fund

Purpose
The purpose of this initiative is to maintain direct services and support for vulnerable people and meet the increased demand for social care services across the Jewish community. This fund will assist organisations delivering these services experiencing financial and operational challenges resulting from Covid-19.  This is to support organisations across our community that provide essential support people including cancer patients; children with life-limiting illnesses; vulnerable children; people with physical and learning disabilities; young people with significant emotional needs; victims of domestic abuse; and adults experiencing mental health problems.

Eligibility
In addition to aligning with the purpose of this initiative as described above, charities will need to meet the following criteria to apply for grants* from this social care assistance fund:

  • Provide frontline health and welfare services to vulnerable people which directs specific, practical, and specialised support based on the group’s particular and identified need (e.g. abuse, cancer or physical or learning disability)9
  • Have an annual revenue of at least £250,000* and be working with at least 100* people (unless this is an application from a regional community providing vital welfare services locally that have a smaller revenue or reach fewer people.)
  • Have enacted or plan to enact one or more mitigation measures. These could include but are not be limited to steps to reduce costs; access to affordable credit; and designation of a significant proportion of available reserves.
  • Demonstrate medium and longer-term viability beyond an initial three-to-six months of additional assistance
  • Agree to consider medium and longer-term consolidation where and when appropriate (with support from the JLC if requested)

*Organisations that do not meet the minimum revenue or reach stated here may not be eligible for grants. However, the JLC would welcome a conversation with these organisations to identify whether there is other practical support the JLC and/or our member organisations may be able to provide. Additionally, if a number of smaller organisations working in the same sector were to make a joint application, on the basis of significant cooperation and consolidation, the Review Committee would consider such an application.

For applications go to https://jlcportal.info/home/charities/social-care-assistance-fund

(Posted 14 May)

Hackney Community Partnerships Team

Grants now available through London Community Response Fund.

Apply now for crisis response grants.

In light of Covid-19, we’ve repurposed £50,000 of Small and Community Chest grants to better respond to the support needs of Hackney residents. We’ve aligned with the London Community Response Fund to allocate grants of up to £5,000 to local organisations with an annual income of £250,000 or less in Hackney.

Applications for wave two ‘Crisis Response’ grants are open now. We will assess any eligible application submitted to the fund before 12:00pm on Monday 18th May. Please note we are not considering applications for the ‘Delivering Differently’ programme.

Please read our webpage and FAQ’s section before applying, or if you have already applied, to understand key information about this funding approach.

Aligning with Wave Two, the grants will focus on urgent needs, as well as supporting organisations to deliver services in new ways to support communities, and to ensure that their longer-term needs are considered by the funding community.

This might include moving existing services online, purchasing equipment to work remotely, responding to new needs as they emerge, meeting increased costs of providing services (including deep cleaning of accommodation); and ensuring all groups can access services (including changes to make these fully accessible).

Mutual aid groups who have been self-coordinating community responses to coronavirus can also apply for funding when they are partnering with an eligible host organisation which would hold the grant.

While decisions about the allocation of Hackney’s £50,000 grant will be taken locally, by aligning this with the London Community Response Fund, the Council is also ensuring that organisations in Hackney have a better chance of being supported by other London Funders.

To read more about this announcement, visit Hackney News.

Contact information:

For enquiries about eligibility, guidelines and application issues contact [email protected].

For all other enquiries, contact [email protected].

(Posted 5 May)

Hackney Youth Opportunity Fund

Due to COVID-19, Hackney Youth Opportunity Fund have made modifications to their applications process  to enable more people to access funding during this time.

They have now introduced a rolling deadline for projects aimed at supporting young people during this difficult time. Collectives and organisations can apply for up to £1,500 for projects that can take place immediately!

Upon receipt of your application, they aim to give an outcome within 2 weeks and monies will be released quickly after this. Please include an invoice for your expenditure with your application so they can speed up the payment process if your application is approved. Please click here to download an application form.

(Posted 29 April)

Database of COVID19-related funding resources from over 500 funders:

https://www.charityexcellence.co.uk/

(Posted 27 April)

Sylvia Adams Charity

As a response to the current pandemic, the trust has changed its application guidelines and processes. Changes will apply for the spring application period march 16th March– April 28th 2020, in the first instance.

These changes are intended to assist small and medium sized charities with small sums of unrestricted funding during this difficult period. The Charity will be able to make more grants than usual but do not expect to be able to fund all applicants.

Please read the new guidelines carefully before deciding whether or not you are eligible to apply.

The Trust will make grant to organisations working to improve the life chances for some of the most disadvantaged children in England and Wales by investing in early intervention and preventative work. They support organisations whose work is with targeted groups of 0-3 year olds in England and Wales which will specifically improve the lives of these targeted groups and bring about improved defined outcomes for them.

Who can apply?

  • Charities registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales whose last audited accounts show an income of less than £750,000
    And
  • Charities 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.
    For further information and eligibility please follow: sylvia adams
(Posted 27 April)

Alpkit Foundation

Grants are available for organisations serving those affected by the coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. Applications should be submitted online, using Alpkit Foundation’s online application form. This can be found on THEIR website. For further information and eligibility please follow: Alpkit Foundation

(Posted 27 April)

Arts Council

Arts Council England (ACE) has made £160m of emergency funding available to organisations and individuals who will need it during the COVID-19 crisis. It has also changed its funding requirements for individuals and organisations currently in receipt of funding.
Deadline: 30th April 2020
For further information please follow: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19

(Posted 27 April)

Charities Aid Foundation

Charities Aid Foundation have set up an Emergency Fund to support charities at this time, although their current round of funding has now closed. We would strongly suggest that groups monitor their website, for when further funding will be available.
For further information and eligibility please follow: CAF Emergency Fund

(Posted 27 April)

Fashion & Textile Childrens Trust

The Fashion & Textile Childrens Trust (FTCT) can help parents and carers who have worked in the UK fashion or textile industry and whose household income has reduced as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. If you’re struggling to make ends meet, their grants can fund items for your children such as clothing, bedding and essential household items.
For further information and eligibility please follow: ffct_corona

(Posted 27 April)

Heritage Emergency Fund

The National Lottery Heritage Fund has put together a £50million fund to support the heritage sector as an immediate response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The £50m fund is 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 or 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 coronavirus (COVID19)

Further information is available on the website with guidance on how to apply.
Deadline: 30th June 2020
For further information and eligibility please follow: Heritage Emergency Fund

(Posted 27 April)

Leathersellers’ Company

This fund was made available due to Coronavirus, but has since closed. We ask members to please follow their websites, as it is anticipated that further funds will be made available within the next few weeks. This funding would be particularly useful for funding small projects or to cover unexpected costs. The value of the grant awarded could be up to a maximum of £3,000.
For further information and eligibility please follow: Small Grants Programme

(Posted 27 April)

Loan Fund for Charities and Social Enterprises

The Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund will enable social lenders, including Charity Bank, to provide emergency loans to affected charities and social enterprises. No personal guarantees and no fees or interest for 12 months. This is part of a £100 million package of support announced by Big Society Capital.
Applications are expected to open in the second half of April. Those interested are encouraged to email [email protected] or to complete a loan form.

(Posted 27 April)

London Community Response

London’s funders are working together to provide coordinated funding to support groups responding to the needs of communities affected by the covid-19 pandemic. This collaboration will offer one single application point for charities and community groups to access funding from multiple funders in a fast and efficient way.
The funding process is being designed based on insights from groups working with Londoners, to ensure that it is flexible and responds to these needs as they emerge over the coming weeks and months.

Details of what funding is available will be posted on this website, together with information about who is eligible and the process for applying.
If you wish to apply you need to complete the single application form on the website before the deadline for the round you are applying for.
Wave 1 Small Grants: the first wave of funding from the collaboration of funders was for grants of up to £5,000 for urgent needs with a focus on food and essentials. Over 700 applications were received within 8 days. Wave 1 is now closed to applications. Wave 2 has two funding programmes that are taking applications:
Crisis response – grants of up to £10,000 to enable groups to meet the immediate needs of communities, from food and essentials, to equipment and additional short-term staff costs.
Delivering differently – grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 to enable charities to change the way they deliver their work to ensure it continues to meet the needs of communities, from switching to digital channels to redeploying staff to boost capacity at a time of increased demand. In some circumstances they may consider grants above £50,000 but there must be a strong rationale in applications for this.
For further information and eligibility please follow: londoncommunityresponse

(Posted 27 April)

Mental Health Response to COVID19

The Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund is being provided by the Department of Health and Social Care and has been awarded for distribution to the Mental Health Consortia (MHC), a group of voluntary sector mental health organisations that is led by the Association of Mental Health Providers (AMHP). The mental health charity Mind is administering the Fund on behalf of the consortia.
The aim of the Fund is to enable increased availability of mental health support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, delivered to people experiencing, or at risk of developing, mental health problems.
The funding is intended to:

  • Mobilise rapid support as the demand grows, by funding expert organisations across
    England, getting support to people with and at risk of developing mental health
    problems, as soon as possible.
  • Provide an increase in effective services, preventing escalation of need, reducing
    waiting lists, enabling providers to flex their services for the current situation and
    increasing reach to vulnerable groups.

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the funding pot is allocated (which is anticipated to be within eight to ten weeks).
There are cut-off dates for applications to be considered at specific panel meetings.
Applications submitted by:

  • 8 May 2020 will receive a decision by 28 May 2020.
  • 22 May 2020 will receive a decision by 11 June 2020.
  • 5 June 2020 will receive a decision 25 June 2020.

For further information and eligibility please follow: Mental Health Response Fund

(Posted 27 April)

Neighbourly Covid-19 Community Fund

The Covid-19 Community Fund is administered by Neighbourly, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) platform operating in locations across the UK and Ireland. The Fund is supported by Neighbourly’s partner businesses M&S, Lidl, Aldi, Danone and Coca-Cola European Partners.
The Fund was launched to support existing member organisations of the platform whose work involves supporting members of the community suffering economically, socially or from ill health as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Micro grants are available for charities and community groups that are existing members of the “Neighbourly” CSR platform, to support good causes that are helping communities affected by the Coronavirus outbreak.
For further information and eligibility please follow: Neighbourly Fund

(Posted 27 April)

Persimmon Homes

Persimmon Community Champions exists to fund good causes across the UK. They have supported thousands of community groups and charities over the years, but from 1st April for the foreseeable future, they want to focus on organisations that support the over70s – a vulnerable group in our society that they feel need our support at this time.

It’s really simple to apply for a donation. All you need to do is complete the online form, telling them why your group or charity, which works with or supports the over 70s, deserves a donation. Included in your application you need to state how much you want them to donate.
Remember, we need the name and location of the initiative so that we can ensure the right business receives your request.
For further information and eligibility please follow: community champions

(Posted 27 April)

Funding for Schools incurring Additional Costs due to COVID19

The Government has announced extra funding and support to cover the exceptional costs associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) for the period March to July 2020.
Funding will be available for all state-funded mainstream and special schools, and alternative provision. This can relate to additional costs associated with keeping schools open during the Easter and/or summer half term holidays, for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers; support; the provision of free school meals (FSM) for eligible children who are not attending school; and additional cleaning – required due to confirmed or suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) cases; etc.
Funding will be available to schools that are unable to meet such additional costs from their existing resources, or which they could only meet by drawing down on reserves and undermining their long-term financial sustainability.
For further information and eligibility please follow: gov-covid19

(Posted 27 April)

The Fore

The Fore believes any charitable organisation with the talent and drive to create social change should be able to access the support it needs to fulfil its potential.
The Fore’s RAFT Fund (Rapid Action by the Fore and Trusts) will provide emergency grants during the coronavirus pandemic for the best-managed small charities and social enterprises doing vital work in their communities. RAFT is specifically looking to shore up and build resilience in the best small charities, giving them a better chance to continue their services and navigate through the Covid19 crisis.
Currently this grant is only open to existing grantees. The Fore are currently fundraising in order to extend RAFT funding to other organisations.
For further information and eligibility please follow: TheFore_RAFT

(Posted 27 April)

Tesco Bags of Help 

Tesco Bags of Help have had an overwhelming response to their call for applications and although they understand that the need is great at this time, they have limited resources and cannot fund all applications. They presently have closed the application process. However it is advised that members should please check their website for future updates.
Follow: Tesco Bags of Help COVID-19 help

(Posted 27 April)

Yapp Charitable Trust
The Yapp Charitable Trust offer grants only for core funding to registered charities with an annual expenditure of less than £40,000 who are undertaking work that focuses on one of their priority groups:
• Elderly people
• Children and young people aged 5 – 25
• People with physical impairments, learning difficulties or mental health challenges
• Social welfare – people trying to overcome life-limiting problems of a social, rather than medical, origin (such as addiction, relationship difficulties, abuse, offending)
• Education and learning (with a particular interest in people who are educationally disadvantaged, whether adults or children)

They define core funding as the costs associated with regular activities or services that have been ongoing for at least a year. They cannot fund new projects, extra services or additional delivery costs. This includes creating a paid post for work that is currently undertaken on a voluntary basis or rent for premises that are currently cost free.
They only offer grants to registered charities that have been formally established for a minimum of 3 years. Newly registered charities may apply but the organisation must have appointed a management committee and adopted a governing document at least 3 years ago.
For further information and eligibility please follow: Yapp Charitable Trust

(Posted 27 April)

Young Barnet Foundation

Community and Charity Groups working within the London Borough of Barnet can apply for up to £500 to support their work that is assisting those affected by COVID-19.
For further information and eligibility please follow: youngbarnetfoundation

(Posted 27 April)

London fund 

New emergency support fund announced to help community and voluntary organisations. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today pledged £1 million to a new emergency support fund to help London’s community and voluntary organisations affected by the impact of the coronavirus.

The Mayor has joined City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, and London Funders, a network of investors of London’s civil society, to launch the new fund – with an initial £1 million provided by City Hall and £1 million from City Bridge Trust. Read more

(Posted 1 April)

National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund has started reaching out to grantees, partners, and other vital civil society organisations to understand how it can support communities and the sector during Covid-19. The Fund aims to share what it learns over the coming period. Read more

An updated statement from the National Lottery Community Fund outlining how they will keep funds flowing to support people, communities and the organisations. Read more

(Posted 1 April)

Waitrose Community Support Fund

Waitrose is creating a £1 million Community Support Fund to help your local community in:

  • Creating additional local delivery services
  • Delivering essential items to care homes and community groups
  • Donating products for customers to share with vulnerable neighbours.

Further information to be released soon.

(Posted 1 April)

UFI Charitable Trust

The UFI Charitable Trust, a grant-funding body, focussed on delivering an increase in vocational learning, is making grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 available to help training providers move towards remote learning.  Applications close on the 6th April 2020. Read more

(Posted 1 April)