# CAF launches emergency coronavirus fund as charities highlight struggle to survive

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2020/04/01/caf-launches-emergency-coronavirus-fund-as-charities-highlight-struggle-to-survive/
- Published: 2020-04-01T08:28:43+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**Almost 4 in 10 charities (37%) surveyed by CAF have said they would not be able
to operate in their current form for six months without extra help – either from
the government or elsewhere.**

 

 

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[CAF](https://www.cafonline.org/) surveyed 271 charities last week. Just over half(
54%) said their ability to operate as they do now would be impacted within a year,
due to the impact of the coronavirus.

 

 

 

For context, CAF cites YouGov figures From March to May last year, which estimates
that £435 million  was donated to charities through sponsorship, with the 2019 London
Marathon alone raising £66.4m for charity.

 

 

 

CAF’s Head of Research, Susan Pinkney, said:

 

 

 

> “Like every other facet of UK life, charities are struggling to keep their doors
> open and deliver crucial services.
> “These results tell us that a lot of the smaller charities that help in communities
> around the UK may not be able to keep going. Some of them told us that timing 
> amounts to a matter of weeks.”

 

 

 

In response, CAF has announced the [CAF Coronavirus Emergency Fund**,** ](https://www.cafonline.org/charities/grantmaking/caf-coronavirus-emergency-fund)
which will offer one-time grants of up to £10,000 to small charities, organisations
and social enterprises that had a turnover of less than £1 million last year and
that are struggling to survive.

 

 

 

CAF has allocated £5 million to fund the programme and expects further contributions
to be added.

 

 

 

Sir John Low, Chief Executive at CAF, said:

 

 

 

> “Some of the charities and small organisations we rely on are facing very difficult
> times. These are the people who are delivering support in so many ways in every
> corner of the UK and we need them to be there during and after this crisis.
> “The situation is dire and CAF has mobilised to try and help as many organisations
> as we can by offering immediate emergency funds. We aim to get this money to charities
> within days and CAF is working flat out to not just deliver these funds, but to
> remind the wider public of the essential role that charities and non-profit organisations
> are playing in the thick of this emergency.”

 

 

 

Details about eligibility and how to apply are [available on its portal](https://www.cafonline.org/charities/grantmaking/caf-coronavirus-emergency-fund).

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