There are a number of funding opportunities available to help charities, social enterprises and vulnerable people during the current pandemic.
Please note that some of the deadlines are very close.
1. Financial support for VCSE organisations to respond to Covid-19
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has published a resource to enable charities to view current government funding opportunities and other support for civil society organisations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The resource, which will be updated as further announcements are made, sets out the funding opportunities available through the £750m civil society support package announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 8 April. It includes:
• Government funds for civil society organisations that are open for applications
• A roundup of all government support for civil society, including funding that has been directly awarded by government departments to charities address the crisis
• Information on other forms of financial support available through HM Treasury
• Details of other funding support, including BBC Children in Need and the National Lottery Community Foundation.
The resource is available through the Office for Civil Society website.
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2. National Lottery Community Foundation launches Coronavirus Community Support Fund
The National Lottery Community Foundation has today launched a £200m fund for organisations in England who are supporting people and communities experiencing disproportionate challenges and difficulty during the pandemic, and those that provide services and support for vulnerable people and have seen an increase in demand or have lost income. This funding has been made available through the £750m support package for the sector announced by the Chancellor on 8 April.
Funding from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund will start to reach frontline organisations within a few weeks. Applications to the Fund will be handled through The National Lottery Community Fund’s well-established funding infrastructure, which they use to deliver around £500 million of grants to local organisations each year. A joint panel set up by DCMS and NLCF will advise on distribution of funding.
Further funding will be committed and informed by emerging priorities, as the impact of the crisis on vulnerable groups and charities is understood.
Applications will open on Friday 22 May. Find out more and apply for funding on National Lottery Community Fund.
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3. Government unlocks £150m from dormant accounts for coronavirus response
The Culture Secretary has announced today that £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts is to be unlocked to help charities, social enterprises and vulnerable individuals during the coronavirus outbreak. This includes accelerating the release of £71 million of new funds from dormant accounts alongside £79 million already unlocked that will be repurposed to help charities’ coronavirus response and recovery.
The funding will support urgent work to tackle youth unemployment, expand access to emergency loans for civil society organisations and help improve the availability of fair, affordable credit to people in vulnerable circumstances.
• £10 million will be brought forward for the Youth Futures Foundation to help organisations who support unemployed, disadvantaged young people across the country into jobs.
• £45 million will be deployed by Big Society Capital to allow better access to investment including emergency loans for charities, social enterprises and some small businesses facing cash-flow problems and disruption to their trading following the coronavirus outbreak.
• Fair4All Finance will use £65 million to support affordable credit providers to increase access to fair, appropriate products and services for those struggling financially, providing them with an alternative to high cost loans.
• £30 million will go to Access – The Foundation for Social Investment who will support social enterprises helping people in vulnerable circumstances.
Read the full announcement here.
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4. Armed Forces Covid-19 Impact Programme
The Covid-19 Impact Programme is a £6m Ministry of Defence fund to ensure that people from Armed Forces communities can keep accessing important services, where resources for these services have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be administered by The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust.
The £6 million fund is available as grants of up to £60,000. In exceptional circumstances, grants of up to £125,000 or more may be awarded. To apply, charities must be working in one of nine key areas: Support to the elderly (including care homes); Mental and physical health; Welfare; Domestic violence; Housing; Criminal Justice System; Service families (including childcare); Bereavement; Employment
The deadline for applications is 29 May 2020.
Further information and details of how to apply are available here.
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5. Loneliness Covid-19 Grant Fund
As part of the Government’s plan to tackle loneliness during the coronavirus lockdown, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has launched a £5 million to fund national organisations working to tackle loneliness and build social connections.
The objectives of this fund are to:
• provide effective, targeted relief for those most at risk of loneliness as a result of Covid-19.
• contribute to the evidence base on Covid-19 and loneliness.
This fund will make grants of between £500,000 and £1,000,000.
The deadline for applications is 12pm on 29 May 2020.
Further information and details of how to apply are available here.
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6. Covid-19 Food Charity Grant Scheme
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a Food Charities Grant Fund. If you run a front-line not-for-profit or charity that provides food, you may be eligible to apply for a grant to support your organisation to provide food to those who need it.
The grant aims to provide immediate support for a limited period of time to help to feed those most vulnerable due to the economic impacts of Covid-19. This ensures that they can access a continual supply of food in a time of increased demand. This will feed numerous economically vulnerable groups including the homeless, the elderly and those in rehabilitation.
The Food Charity Grant Scheme requires charities to apply for at least £30,000, up to a maximum of £100,000. If you receive food from the FareShare network, you are still eligible to apply for this grant. Your grant application should be for the additional food you need to support the increase in demand to your services as a result of Covid-19.
The deadline for applications is 6 July 2020.
Further information and details of how to apply are available here.
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