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 18th May and closes 15th June. A launch event webinar will be help on 20th May that will provide more information on the Resourcing Racial Justice Fund and how to apply.
Similar to the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the government has confirmed that charities are also eligible for smaller ‘bounce back’ loans of between £2000-£50,000, which the Chancellor announced in April. The requirement for businesses to generate ‘50% income from trading’ does not apply to charities. Find out more.
Government announced £750m in funding for charities nearly a month ago. We finally heard some more over the weekend when Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick MP announced that £76m of this funding will be allocated to support vulnerable children and survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence, but nothing about which charities will receive this support. Details for distribution of most of the rest of the funding remain unclear. As part of the #NeverMoreNeeded campaign to increase the support available to charities, we want you to tell us how helpful and accessible the support that’s currently available has been – including the support provided to business which charities can access. Just answer some quick questions in our short survey, and tell us about how your organisation is being affected by the current crisis.
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.
The Yorkshire Building Society’s Charitable Foundation has launched a Coronavirus Response Fund to support registered charities that ate helping local communities affected by the coronavirus. Funding will support groups and activities that help vulnerable people who are self-isolating, co-ordinate community response, provide emergency support such as food banks, help with loss of income and ensure health and wellbeing is maintained. The £100,000 fund will make donations of between £250 and £2,000 to help with costs such as running costs, staff and travel costs, and volunteer expenses. Applications can be made at any time and will be reviewed on a fortnightly basis. Click here
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. Find out more.
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.
The Department of Health and Social Care has made £5 million available to support voluntary and community sector (VCS) mental health providers which are experiencing an increase in demand for their services due to coronavirus. Through the Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund, small and large grants of between £5,000 and £50,000 are available to help increase mental support for people with and at risk of developing mental health problems. This might include befriending support, support or advice workers, peer support, and practical help including support whilst in self-isolation. Funding can cover costs such as core and capital costs, and direct project costs such as staff and volunteer training. Applications can be made at any time and will be assessed every two weeks for an anticipated eight to ten weeks. Click here
The OneFamily Foundation is inviting its customers to nominate a local charity, group or cause for a Community Grant of up to £2,500 to help them to continue providing support to those affected by the coronavirus, or who themselves are struggling to maintain their usual services. Examples for nominations might include foodbanks, support groups or homeless charities. The Foundation has already helped more than two hundred good causes deliver projects such as helping disability charities invest in their resources, and community groups tackle isolation amongst the older generation. Nominations for this round close on the 12th May 2020. Click here
The UK Government in collaboration with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has launched phase 2 of its Emergency Surplus Food Grant. The aim of the £1 million grant scheme is to provide support to small and micro-sized not-for-profit food redistributors who can redistribute surplus food from retailers, wholesalers and food manufacturers to vulnerable people and those in need who are affected by the coronavirus. Grants of between £5,000 and £10,000 are available to help with capital and revenue costs such as costs for transporting the surplus food or any increased demand and capacity issues. The deadline for applications is 1pm on the 4th June 2020 but may close early if the budget is fully allocated. Click here