Barclays launches £100 million COVID-19 Community Aid Package
Melanie May | 14 April 2020 | News
Barclays has launched The Barclays Foundation to deliver a £100 million package to charities tackling the impact of COVID-19.
The £100m package is in two parts: a corporate contribution of £50m will go to a variety of charities working to support vulnerable people impacted by COVID-19, and in alleviating the associated social and economic hardship caused by the crisis. While most of this money will be for the UK, some will also go to Barclays’ international markets, including the USA and India.
Barclays has also made a £50m commitment to match personal donations made by employees to local charities of their choice working to support communities impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.
SEE ALSO: Charities invited to apply to Barclays 100×100 UK COVID-19 Community Relief Programme (6 May 2020)
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Including employee donations, the package could reach £150m for charities. Barclays has announced that senior staff will be donating part of their salaries: Barclays PLC Chairman, Nigel Higgins, Group CEO, Jes Staley, and the Group Finance Director, Tushar Morzaria, will each donate a third of their fixed pay for the next six months to charities engaged in supporting vulnerable people impacted by COVID-19. Their donations will be matched in full by the company under the matched donation programme.
Commenting on the launch of the package, Barclays Group CEO, Jes Staley, said:
“As a bank we have been doing all we can to look after our customers, clients, and colleagues through this crisis, made possible by tens of thousands of amazing and dedicated Barclays people around the world who have been doing their utmost to keep our services running, and support the economy.
“We want to do more to back the communities in which we live and work, and to provide help to those who have been hardest hit by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
“That’s why we’ve launched this community aid package, which we hope will make a positive difference, working with charity partners here in the UK and around the world to deliver help where it’s needed most.”
Editor’s update 12 July 2021
Barclays has extended this funding, offering 50 more £100,000 grants to eligible UK charities.
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.