Covid-19 Funding

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Local Funds

Allerdale Sports Development Grant - Sports clubs can apply for a new grant from Allerdale Borough Council to help them improve accessibility, participation and to support recovery from impacts of the coronavirus. 

CarlisleSports Hardship Fund - Sports Clubs and other community groups in Carlisle providing sport and physical activity can access this now extended fund. The fund is available to not for profit sporting organisations and community groups that have reduced financial resources due to the pandemic. The extension now allows for groups planning to open at Step 1 of the government road map at the end of March 2021. More information can be found in the PDF Document Carlisle Sports Handship Fund. The fund will be managed through the County Council community grants application process. 

Other Funds

Alpkit Foundation Grassroots Support now - the foundation has had a temporary shift in focus and are now prioritising support projects that demonstrate an immediate impact on those affected by the Covid-19 virus crisis.

Asda Foundation C-19 Healthy Holiday grants - Grants are available to support charitable groups that typically would be holding summer holiday activities to ensure vulnerable children are provided with a hot meal (options if social distancing still in place).

Big Society Capital - has announced,  an "ambitious £100 million programme of loans and investments" which aims to get emergency funding into charities, social enterprises and small businesses in disadvantaged areas during the pandemic.

Charities Aid Foundation Coronavirus Emergency Fund The CAF had launched a rapid response fund to help smaller charitable organisations affected by the impact of Covid-19. The fund has been overly subscribed so they have PAUSED it to new applications just now. CAF does however have a Coronavirus hub page on their website which lists other sources of funding available to charities as this  difficult time.

Charity Bank - Charity Bank has updated its list of emergency funds for charities and social enterprises that are experiencing difficulties with their cash flow during the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes UK wide and country specific funds as well as regional funding sources, which are primarily local Community Foundations.

Coalfields COVID-19 Recovery & Resilience Fund - the trustees had allowed changes to funding support due to the COVID-19 crisis. Grants of up to £10,000 are still available but committee meetings will be held on a more regular basis. Priority will be given to organisations that are delivering support services or have significantly adapted their services  in order to respond to the current crisis and support vulnerable people.

Comic Relief COVID-19 Community Fund – Project Delivery Grants The new Comic Relief COVID-19 Community Fund was launched by Groundwork in response to the impact COVID-19 has had on communities in England.  The funding has been made available with funds raised by the British public through the Big Night In appeal, match funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). Applications are accepted from grassroots, not-for-profit voluntary or community organisations (including registered charities/companies) that include members with lived experience to enable them to: respond to the needs of vulnerable individuals, families and communities during the coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis; recover from the impact that the coronavirus/COVID-19 crisis has had on their services. Approximately 150 grants of up to £4,000 will be awarded in total.  The grants must be spent by the end of February 2021. Applications are assessed on a rolling basis.  This is a short-term response and recovery Fund and it will only be open for applications until the end of 2020.  Applications may close earlier if all funds have been awarded.

Comic Relief Community Fund - Capacity Building Grants Capacity Building grants of up to £1,000 will support organisations to become stronger and more robust and to improve their ability to deliver, both during and after the COVID-19 crisis. The first step in the application process is to complete the online eligibility checklist on the Groundwork website. There are no deadlines as this is a rolling programme. 

Disability Action - The National Emergencies Trust has announced £1.5 million of funding to support grassroots Disabled Peoples Organisations (DPOs) across the UK to respond to the COVID-19 needs of disabled people. Grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 are available. It is anticipated that 50% of the grants will be between £1,000 and £5,000; 25% will be between £5,000 and £10,000 and the remaining 25% will be between £15,000 and £25,000. The funding period is eight months (1 November 2020 to 30 June 2021). All grant income and funding activity must be spent and completed by the end of June 2021.

ECB Emergency Support programmes - Cricket clubs and leagues are now able to apply to three new funding schemes specifically designed to help see them through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Emergency Loan scheme, Return to Cricket Grant Scheme as well as the new League Emergency Loan Scheme.

The Fore - RAFT Transition Fund: Unrestricted grants to help small charities and social enterprises in the UK plan for the longer term and gain a stronger footing in the post-coronavirus world. The unrestricted grants can be used for any purpose, including core costs. A webinar to prepare you for application can be viewed here. (max. £15,000) Application deadline: rolling (first come first serve)

LTA Covid-19 support package -  In early April LTA announced their multi-million pound support package, designed to ensure clubs and venues remain viable and players, coaches and officials are not lost to our sport. The LTA know that many involved in tennis in Britain are concerned about their futures and are facing significant challenges. Support for venues, coaches, officials and performance is available.

MIND Coronavirus Mental Health Response Fund - Due to the coronavirus pandemic, demand for mental health services is increasing. Thanks to £5m support from government (the Department of Health and Social Care), grants of £20,000 or £50,000 are available for projects lasting up to 12 months.

As part of this funding programme, National Survivor User Network is administering a smaller fund to support user-led organisations (ULOs) and smaller, unconstituted community groups in England, who might not otherwise be eligible for a grant. Further details can be found here.  Grants of up to £1000 will be available.

National Lottery Awards for All 
A quick way to apply for smaller amounts of funding between £300 and £10,000. Suitable for voluntary or community organisations. CEO Dawn Austwick recently stated all the funding decisions they make for the next six months (up to £300m of National Lottery funding) will be devoted to addressing the current crisis. This is restricted to:

• Activities specifically geared to supporting communities through this crisis
• Helping organisations overcome any liquidity issues caused by COVID-19

National Lottery Reaching Communities England - This programme now focuses on funding projects and organisations helping communities through the COVID-19 pandemic. They can fund activities supporting people affected by the crisis. You can also apply for funding if your organisation is struggling financially because of the impact of COVID-19. They are looking to award funding to cover six months of expenditure and are expecting most funding will be between £10,000 and £100,000.

Neighbourly Covid Community Fund
Micro grants are available for charities and community groups that are existing members of the “Neighbourly” CSR platform, to support good causes that are helping communities affected by the Coronavirus outbreak.  The funding is for activities that support members of the community who are suffering economically, socially or from ill health as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. (max. £400) 

Social Enterprise Support Fund - The fund is aimed at social enterprises supporting people at high health risk from COVID-19, and those supporting people facing increased social and economic challenges as a result of COVID-19.

Standard Life Foundation - have announced that they will be making funding available for work directly related to the pandemic, addressing specific challenges and helping to contribute to social change which tackles financial problems and improves living standards for those on low-to-middle incomes in the UK.

Swimathon Foundation's COVID-19 Relief Fund Round 2 - The Swimathon Foundation is providing grants of between £250 and £1,000 to small swimming and aquatic organisations experiencing short-term financial hardship from the effects of COVID-19, especially where access to financial support is not otherwise available. These range from National Governing Body Affiliated Swim Clubs, Aquatic Clubs and Swim Schools to Independent Swimming Organisations.

Priority will be given to organisations who are not eligible for and have not received funding from any government funded organisation or the first iterations of the Swimathon Covid-19 Relief Fund covering swimming or aquatics. Applications will be accepted from 1 February 2021 to 26 February 2021.

Tesco Bags of Help Covid-19 Communities Fund - Tesco Bags of Help is responding to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis by setting up a new short-term fund to support local communities. Due to the need to respond quickly to the emergency we have created a streamlined application process and payment process to make it easier to get funds distributed quickly. If your application is successful the fund will provide a single payment award of £500 to organisations who are supporting vulnerable groups. The programme is set up to support organisational need in this time of crisis rather than fund specific projects.

The Volant Charitable Trust Covid-19 Response Fund set up by author J.K. Rowling, the Trust has recently set up a Covid-19 Response Fund and is seeking applications from not-for-profit groups impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic working to deliver services anywhere across the UK or internationally. The closing date for applications is 31^st December 2020 with decisions reached and communicated by April 2021 at the latest.

UK Youth Fund - Covid19 Relief Fund has been created to support youth organisations who have not had access to the crisis funding they require to survive the Covid-19 pandemic. Youth organisations with an income of under £250,000, that are based in, and deliver their work in England are eligible to apply for up to £50,000. 

The Fund aims to support small organisations that have lost funding, have been forced to reduce services supporting young people or might even be facing the threat of closure. The Fund is open for applications until midday on 25^th November