Funders award over £11m in coronavirus response grants
Melanie May | 1 May 2020 | News
Funders have awarded more than £11 million to date in coronavirus-related grants, according to data from 360Giving.
360Giving‘s coronavirus response grants tracker is based on data published by UK grantmakers in the 360Giving Data Standard. It shows that so far, just over £11m has been awarded by 28 funders in 913 grants to 864 recipients.
Suffolk Community Foundation, Somerset Community Foundation, The Tudor Trust, and Pears Foundation are among those funders listed as having awarded a number of grants.
Suffolk Community Foundation’s emergency fund supporting Suffolk’s community response to the crisis raised nearly £1million in a month. Almost 60,000 vulnerable people have been given direct support as a result, including an estimated 30,000 who have received emergency food support. Of the £935,000 raised, £520,000 has already been distributed to over 100 Suffolk charities and dozens more requests worth over £250,000 are being processed.
Somerset Community Foundation’s Somerset Coronavirus Appeal raised over £450,000 in its first month, and was able to make worth over £200,000 to more than 80 groups across the county by mid-April, including foodbanks and food delivery schemes, support services for older people, and virtual counselling, with more funding going out every day.
The Tudor Trust has awarded a wide range of grants, including £1,500 to West End Impact as emergency funding towards the additional costs of supporting vulnerable people in Morecombe during the crisis, and £20,000 over one year to Reuse Network to enable it maintain contact with members, supporting them to distribute furniture and other items to people in need during the coronavirus crisis.
Pears Foundation has allocated over £1.3m since the beginning of April, including £500,000 to the British Red Cross, and £50,000 each to a number of charities for coronavirus-related support including Carers UK, Contact, The Mix, and National Autistic Society.
More coronavirus-related funding news:
Charities Aid Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund
The Charities Aid Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund has granted more than £1 million to 256 charities across the UK but has had to pause applications due to the demand.
The fund was set up late last month with an initial £5 million made available by CAF to distribute rapid response grants of up to £10,000 to help small charities, non-profits and social enterprises struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Applications were paused on 5 April after more than 5,000 applications were received in a week, requesting a combined total of over £40 million.
Monica Brown, CAF’s Head of Charity Advisory and Programmes, said:
“We have been humbled by the charities out there that are doing everything they can to continue to operate at such a tough time. We are very proud to be able to offer some help to charities working so hard on behalf of people, causes and communities across the UK.
“I am pleased to see that we have been able to get more than £1 million in help to charities in a matter of weeks and it is our plan to grow this fund so that we will be in a position to help more small organisations to continue to deliver vital services in the weeks and months ahead.”Advertisement
Kent Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund
Kent Community Foundation’s Coronavirus Emergency Fund has raised £950,000 to date, and has so far supported 145 charitable organisations with grants totalling over half a million pounds.
The Foundation launched the fund four weeks ago, and the total of £950,000 includes a donation of £400,000 from the National Emergencies Trust.
Beneficiaries of KCF Coronavirus Emergency Fund include Kent Search & Rescue, which has received £3,000, £7,000 to HomeStart Dover, £4,000 to Hypo Hounds, and £2,000 to 2makeit.
Natalie Smith, Director of Grants and Impact, said:
“The Kent Community Foundation grants team has received over 255 applications for the Coronavirus Emergency Fund since it launched on 23 March and we have been working at speed to distribute funding to charities and community groups who are desperate for support. We have to date supported 145 charitable organisations with grants totalling over half a million pounds. The work doesn’t stop here of course, as we begin to look ahead and consider how these incredible charities will also play a part in the recovery from the worst of the pandemic.”
The National Lottery
The National Lottery has also announced that it is awarding up to £600m of repurposed lottery funds to charities and organisations affected by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Read more on this story here.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.