The National Lottery Community Fund – COVID-19 Response (England)

The National Lottery Community Fund has announced that its Awards for All England funding programme will remain open to all applications but, for the next six months, will prioritise applications from voluntary and community groups that need help to respond to Covid-19. Grants of between £300 to £10,000 will be available to existing grant-holders and is available to help with costs such as running costs, equipment, one-off events, staff and training costs, and transport etc. Applications which involve the community in the design, development and delivery of the projects will be more likely to succeed. Groups may hold up to a maximum of two awards within a 12-month period. Applications will be dealt with more quickly than normal and can be made at any time. Click here

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£750 Million Boost For Charities

The latest announcement from the Chancellor included a much needed emergency package of £750 Million to keep charities afloat during these uncertain times. Chancellor Rishi Sunak also confirmed that charities and their employees are eligible for the government’s job retention scheme.

Tens of thousands of charities providing vital services will benefit from direct cash grants, to ensure they can meet increased demand as a result of the virus, as well as continuing their day-to-day activities supporting those in need.

Mr Sunak also announced that the government would match all donations from the public to the BBC’s Big Night In fundraising event on the 23rd April, pledging a minimum of £20m.

Keep up to date with the latest developments on this much needed support package, including how much funding charities will be entitled to claim and over what period, and how long it will be before the funding reaches charities accounts from the Charity Tax Group.

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Standard Life Foundation: New Fast Track Grant Scheme

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

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London Community Response Fund: Wave 2 Has Opened

Wave 1 of funding from the London Community Response Fund has now closed to applicants and Wave 2 has opened. As of April 9th, 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.

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BAME Covid-19 Emergency Planning Group

The Ubele Initiative highlights to government urgent concern that BAME communities who are both on the frontline dealing with outbreak and are set to face disproportionate impacts, are not being adequately included and considered in decisions being made by government and civil society leadership. Find out more.

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Campaign to Support Seniors Who are Socially Isolated Throughout Covid-19

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.

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Funding for Schools Incurring Additional Costs Due to the Coronavirus (England)

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. Click here

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COVID-19 Emergency Surplus Food Grant (England)

The UK Government in collaboration with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) have launched a £3.25 million fund to support the operations of not-for-profit food redistributors to ensure that any surplus food can reach people in need or those considered most vulnerable. The COVID-19 Emergency Surplus Food Grant will be delivered in three phases. During phase 1 WRAP will be approaching a target list of small redistribution organisations who have applied previously to the fund to ascertain their immediate need for potential funding support. Phase 2 (which will be launched on the 9th April) will provide funding opportunities for small surplus food redistributors, and Wrap are also launching funding support aimed at medium to larger operators (phase 3). The grants can be used to fund both capital and revenue costs associated with redistribution activities such as access to surplus food through logistical collections; sorting, storing, freezing, labelling / repackaging food, and; onward distribution of food to charities or end beneficiaries. Click here

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£750 Million Coronavirus Funding for Frontline Charities (UK)

The Government has announced a £750 million emergency support package for charities across the UK to ensure they can continue their work during the coronavirus outbreak. The funding package consists of £360 million direct from government departments to charities such as hospices and victim support charities that are providing vital services and helping vulnerable people through the current crisis; and £370 million for smaller charities, including through a grant to the National Lottery Community Fund. The National Lottery Community Fund is currently discussing with Government on how best to distribute the funding. The Government also announced the Government will match fund whatever the public decides to donate to the BBC’s Big Night In charity appeal on 23 April, starting with a contribution of at least £20 million to the National Emergencies Trust appeal. Click here

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Young Women’s Trust

The Young Women’s Trust has set up an Emergency Fund in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. 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. Find out more.

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