A new COVID-19 response fund worth £500,000 has launched to support the local charities, community groups and voluntary organisations that are helping people whose lives have been severely affected by the pandemic.
Grants of up to £5,000 will be available thanks to funds from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which will be managed by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation (HIWCF).
The grants can cover core costs and will help towards the financial sustainability of organisations who are directly supporting people experiencing hardship as a result of the ongoing crisis. The grants will allow organisations to adapt their services and ways of working to react to the crisis, including buying equipment, organisational development and online fundraising.
Grants will also support groups that can prevent crises escalating within communities, with priority given to those who are reaching the most vulnerable and those at greatest risk of negative social, health or economic impacts. Projects responding to acute need will still be prioritised, and applications are welcomed from organisations where COVID-19 has had a disproportionate negative impact, including BAME communities.
The new NET CORONAVIRUS programme represents a transition from the initial relief phase launched by NET, dealing with the immediate shock of the crisis, to the longer-term resilience and response phrase providing help for those suffering from the economic and social aftermath of the pandemic.
Grant Cornwell MBE, HIWCF Chief Executive, says:
“We would like to thank DCMS and the National Emergencies Trust for working in partnership with HIWCF, ensuring that funding will be awarded swiftly and efficiently to those in most need.
“With our knowledge of local need and priorities, we are perfectly placed to reach those groups, causes and projects that are working so hard to help those who have been hit hardest by the crisis.
Article continues below this advertisement “HIWCF and NET have played a key role in distributing first phase emergency funding across the region, with £865k distributed to 140 groups since lockdown began, and this new funding means that our communities can continue to react, be stronger and more resilient, making a huge difference to the lives of those most affected by the crisis.”
Organisations can find out more information, check the criteria and apply for a grant from the HIWCF website at www.hiwcf.com/grants/. There is currently no closing date for grant applications.
So where is this money going then…… I don’t see anything or anyone listed. I smell a rat here.
of course there is… most of any grant money handed out is sucked up in salaries and expenses – then some poor sod that is actually suffering hardship will get a few food vouchers or directions to a food bank
Actually most of this funding goes to local organisations who run off volunteers. Are you a volunteer for any charities? If so, you may have received funding. Just a couple of those who have received the funding are Aspire Ryde, Community Spirted Cafe, Frontline, Cowes Baptist Church, Pan Together, Jigsaw, Mad Aid, Suicide Prevention & Intervention…..just a few of the 27 organisations helped so far.
I’d like to say thank you to the volunteers who make such a difference.