£400,000 fund created to help Glasgow community groups
Melanie May | 5 August 2020 | News
Virgin Money Foundation and HFD Charitable Foundation have launched a £400,000 fund to support community groups impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.
The Community Anchors’ Fund will support community hubs with a range of costs such as adapting buildings to allow for social distancing, new IT equipment and vital services such as delivering food parcels.
It has already awarded the first ten of up to 30 grants, with those benefitting including Cranhill Development Trust, which has been awarded £20,000, Govanhill Baths Community Trust (£15,000), the Community Central Hall in Maryhill (£10,000), Woodlands Community Development Trust (£10,000), Preshal Trust in Govan (£10,000) and Bridgeton Community Learning Campus (£10,000).
Tim Cowen, Manager at Woodlands Community Development Trust (main image) said:
“Support from the Glasgow Community Anchors’ Fund will make a real difference to our charity at this difficult time. Our community building has been closed since March and as a result we’ve lost rental income that we rely on. The funding will enable us to buy the equipment we need to start safely running community events outdoors whilst we explore ways of re-opening the building.
“The support will also help us meet the extra cleaning costs of keeping our premises Covid-secure and the IT costs in enabling our staff to continue to work from home. As a result we will be able to scale up our response to the pandemic and provide additional support to people who are isolated or suffering from anxiety or hardship.”
Virgin Money Foundation’s expansion in Glasgow marks a new chapter in its work to support local groups in and around Virgin Money’s regional heartlands. The Foundation launched in August 2015 and has granted a total of £8.3m to community groups in the North East of England.
Nancy Doyle-Hall, Executive Director of the Virgin Money Foundation said:
Advertisement
“This is an important step in funding for the Virgin Money Foundation as it expands its reach into Glasgow. It’s clear to us that these organisations not only play a vital role in our communities but have gone above and beyond to support their communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic changed all of our lives and the new funding from the Virgin Money Foundation and the HFD Charitable Foundation will help those organisations continue their hard work supporting some of the hardest hit communities in the city.”
HFD Group is the developer of 177 Bothwell Street, which will become Virgin Money’s new headquarters in Glasgow and will be the city’s largest single office building. The company’s Charitable Foundation has made a significant contribution towards the Community Anchors’ Fund, as part of its ongoing commitment to support good causes in the local area.
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.