Esmée Fairbairn Foundation commits extra £7.4mn in uplift payments
Melanie May | 19 December 2022 | News
The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has announced that it will be offering an uplift payment for most of the grants it made in or before 2022 where work is ongoing in January 2023 and is being affected by rising costs.
This is a commitment of an additional £7.4mn.
The payment will represent 10% of the Foundation’s most recent grant payment made in 2022 as well as any further outstanding grant payments (capped at a maximum payment of £60,000). It will be writing to the organisations it supports with more details in the week beginning 23 January. Any questions can be directed to: co************@es************.uk.
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The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation has also reiterated that it wants to be as supportive as possible, for example moving payment dates where helpful, and offering a call rather than a written report.
The Foundation make unrestricted, core and project grants for charitable work in the UK. Information on how to apply can be found on its site.
More cost of living uplift grants
A number of grantmakers have announced cost of living uplift grants in recent weeks. Here’s news on some more:
John Lyon’s Charity ringfences £1mn for cost of living uplift grants
John Lyon’s Charity has ring-fenced £1mn to help alleviate the impact of the Cost of Living crisis amongst current grant holders with a turnover of less than £1m. Eligible organisations will be contacted by John Lyon’s Charity with details on how to claim the Cost of Living Uplift grant.
Lynne Guyton, CEO of John Lyon’s Charity said:
“We know we can’t solve the current Cost of Living crisis but equally we will never sit back and just do nothing. Our mantra is to walk alongside our groups and do everything we can to support them, especially in a time of great need. The Cost of Living crisis is no different, therefore the only choice we have is to respond. We hope the Cost of Living uplift grant will make a difference to our groups, so that they can continue to provide their vital services.”
More information on the charity’s funding opportunities here.
Additional support for Kent charities
Kent Community Foundation has initiated additional financial support with the introduction of a Cost-Of-Living Uplift Fund.
To ensure that the extra money reaches organisations quickly the addition of £1,000 will apply automatically to most applications without any need to make a request for the further funding. However, there are a couple of exceptions; organisations with an income over £500,000 and those with over nine months reserves will not automatically receive the uplift and community groups receiving a grant through the Micro Grants Fund will be allocated a proportionate uplift, of between £300 and £500.
More information on the foundation’s funding opportunities here.
The Robertson Trust announces extra support for grantees
The Robertson Trust is also giving cost of living uplift grants to grantees. The payments range from 10% to 25% of this year’s instalment of their current grants, and have been purposefully weighted towards smaller, low-capacity groups that are more likely to be severely impacted by increased energy costs. The payments are unrestricted with no associated reporting requirements.
In a blog announcing the news last month, Head of Giving Lesley Macdonald said:
“We know that we are not alone in taking this approach and hope that these additional payments, combined with those from other funders, can provide a financial cushion over the coming months. I would just like to reiterate how much respect and admiration we here at the Trust have for the incredible work being done by our grantholders.”
More information on the trust’s funding opportunities here.
More on uplift grants
Research released by London Funders in October found that 13% of funders surveyed between August and September were offering uplifts or increases to current one-year grants, with a further 19% planning to do so. 13% were also offering uplifts or increases to current multi- year grants with 24% planning to do so. Corra Foundation, Trust for London and National Lottery Community Fund are amongst those to have already promised to uplift some of their grants.
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.