Tesco Bags of Help has launched a new Fund in response to the Coronavirus outbreak. The new short-term fund is open to registered charities, voluntary and community organisations, schools, health bodies, Parish, Town and community councils, social enterprises, local authorities and social housing organisations across the UK. Grants of £500 are available to organisations that support vulnerable groups whose demand for services has been increased or disrupted, or who need to put new services in place. This might include stock for food banks, new home services for the elderly, increasing resources for children’s activities, and help for hospices, homeless charities and women’s refuges. The Fund is set up to support organisation need rather than fund specific projects and expects to make weekly awards. Applications can be made at any time. Click here
To support the essential role sight loss organisations play in providing vital services to blind and partially sighted people, Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT) has suspended its normal grant funding activities and set up an emergency fund for sight loss organisations. £500,000 of essential support will be available to sight loss sector organisations which are providing critical services for the physical and emotional well-being of blind and partially sighted people in these uncertain times. Grants will be available of up to £10,000 pounds or the equivalent of two months’ running costs (whichever is less) for use over the next six months. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis. Click here
Crisis has established an emergency grants fund to support local groups who are financially affected by additional demands on their resources and who have expanded their provision to meet the current needs of those experiencing homelessness across the UK. Local organisations and charities providing services to those experiencing homelessness can apply for grants of up to £5,000 for short-term responses to the coronavirus emergency; and grants of up to £50,000 to fund long-term needs and potential expansion or change in service delivery. Click here
Sport England have launched a £195 million package to help sport and physical activity through the coronavirus outbreak. The money aims to help partners, clubs and community organisations cope with the short and long-term impact of the pandemic.
£20 million of this package has been allocated towards the Community Emergency Fund, which is now open for clubs and community organisations to bid into. Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available.
Who they will fund?
Any organisation delivering community sport and physical activity can apply if it’s experiencing short term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the impact of coronavirus.
These organisations include:
- Local sports clubs
- Voluntary and community sector organisations that deliver or enable sport and/or physical activity, including organisations that are not solely or primarily sports organisations and have an important role to play in keeping people active, that may need support for other parts of their organisation to remain open
- Small charitable trusts that do not qualify for financial help elsewhere
- Regional or county level organisations or leagues that have already paid out funds for activities that are now cancelled and are not able to claim funds from elsewhere.
What they will fund?
The fund has been developed to help community sport and physical activity organisations meet their obligations, in particular fixed costs, which are no longer supported with revenue as a result of coronavirus. This might cover expenditure on:
- Rent
- Utility costs
- Insurances
- Facility or equipment hire
- Core staffing costs (including casual workers) that cannot be met elsewhere by other government funds
- Retrospective losses dating from 1 March, 2020.
You can find out more information on the criteria and applying by clicking the Community Emergency Fund above.
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to law centres, advice agencies and citizens advice bureau, charities, etc in London and the South East of England that provide free legal advice services. The funding is being made available through the London Legal Support Trust, which is an independent charity that raises funds for free legal services. In particular, the Trust is looking to support new pro bono surgeries; pro bono surgeries that need time to regain sustainability; one-off capital costs, particularly associated with capacity building or improving sustainability (i.e. reducing costs, increasing efficiency through new systems, technology or moving/altering premises); and the development of legal advice agencies where none currently exist. Due to the effects of COVID19 on the services of specialist legal advice centres the Trust will only provide funds at this time to maintain agencies that are in severe difficulties for the rest of the year. The closing date for applications is the 21st June 2020. Click here
Charity Bank have produced a list of emergency funders, including a summary of each local Community Foundation. Click here
The London Community Response Fund, coordinated by London Funders, is open for applications for the first wave of funding. This first wave will cover urgent needs – focusing on food and essentials and organisations can apply for up to £5,000. More funding will be available in due course for larger grants, service transformation costs, and ongoing work to support communities. Applying for the first wave doesn’t mean you can’t apply for further waves of money.
The London Community Response Fund – supported by a variety of funders – gives one easy access point for organisations seeking urgent funds during this time. All emergency funds coming to or managed by LCF – including the National Emergencies Trust and the London Communities Coronavirus Appeal – are being allocated through this portal. By working with other funders on this portal, we want to support the sector by reducing time spent applying for funds. We will continue to update you on emergency funds here but to apply directly for funding, please use the following link which will take you to the London Funders: London Community Response Fund: Apply for Emergency Funding to help London’s most vulnerable (londoncommunityresponsefund.org.uk).
To stay up to date with the latest, please check out this blog
Funders have been quick to issue statements on how they will support their grant holders in the coming months. Here’s our list of new, amended and soon-to-be-open funds.
The King’s Fund in partnership with the National Lottery Community Fund has launched a new £3 million Healthy Communities Together programme to empower voluntary and community sector organisations and the local health and care sector to work together to boost the health and wellbeing of their communities. The programme consists of two phases. In phase 1, a maximum of six areas will receive up to £50,000 funding and a package of learning and development support for up to nine months to develop their partnership and project plans. The closing date for application for phase 1 is the 27th May 2020 with projects for phase 1 projected to start in September 2020. At the end of this phase, each location will be invited to apply for phase 2 of the programme for further funding and support. Click here
Grants of between £20,000 and £60,000 per year for up to three years are available to charitable organisations that help people at times of crisis in their lives. In particular, funding is available when other sources of support have failed, are inappropriate, or are simply not available. The funding is provided through the Henry Smith Charity Improving Lives Programme. Eligible organisations include charities and not-for-profit organisations (including social enterprises) in the UK with a turnover of £50,000 – £2 million (in exceptional circumstances up to £5 million). Applications can be submitted at any time and decisions are usually made within 6 months. Click here
sobus
20 Dawes Road, London, SW6 7EN
Telephone 020 7952 1230
Email info@sobus.org.uk
Registered Charity No.1071089
and Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in England No.03471416
Sobus is a new Community Development Agency for Hammersmith & Fulham. It has been created through the merger of the Community and Voluntary Sector Association Hammersmith & Fulham (CaVSA) and the Fulham Community Partnership Trust (FCPT). Building on the strengths of both organisations, sobus aims to provide a wider range of support services for local charities, community groups, social enterprises and start up businesses.