The government has pledged £750 million to ensure VCSE can continue their vital work supporting the country during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, including £200m for the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, along with an additional £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts.
Find out about the newly announced Coronavirus Community Support Fund.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is working to ensure that VCSEs can effectively support HMG’s operational response to key challenges, such as helping the shielding population and the Non-shielding Vulnerable to access food, and other activities that are delivering charitable purposes.
The government has pledged £750 million to ensure VCSE can continue their vital work supporting the country during the coronavirus outbreak including £200m for the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, along with an additional £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts. The Office for Civil Society in DCMS is working with colleagues across government to direct funds to support the VCSE and the wide range of essential activities they undertake.
Funding announced
The funding is aimed at supporting those who need to continue providing their services as part of the national coronavirus response and is being allocated through the following ways:
- £360m from individual government departments to charities in England based on evidence of service need. Of this £200m is to directly support hospices
- £310m for smaller, local VCSEs working with vulnerable people in England, including £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund will be distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund
- £60m in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to support thousands of charities on the frontline helping vulnerable people affected by COVID-19
- £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts is to be unlocked to help charities, social enterprises and individuals
- Match funding the generous public donations to the BBC Big Night In. The latest fundraising total is over £35m. The first £20m of match funding went to the National Emergencies Trust appeal for smaller, local VCSEs. The 47 local Community Foundations across the UK, including Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland will then grant funding to eligible organisations within their community. Match funding above the first £20m is split between Children In Need and Comic Relief.
Distribution of public funds
Getting funding to those most in need as quickly as possible is vital and priority will be given to those VCSEs with the most need for government funds. The distribution of public funds to organisations must have appropriate due diligence, robust evidence of need and capacity to deliver help quickly.
The application processes of government departments, the National Lottery Community Fund, local Community Foundations, Children In Need and Comic Relief are safe and effective mechanisms. We have worked intensively with the voluntary sector, TNLCF and departments to offer a package of funding to meet needs across the country through national and smaller, local organisations alike.
Departments are taking a range of approaches to getting funding to the VCSE in order to meet the community needs they have identified as quickly as possible. Some funding will be provided directly to organisations they already work in partnership with, and a number of departments will be running specific onward grants processes themselves or with partners. Where this is the case application and assessment processes will be as straightforward and quick as possible.
