Sun Jul 26 2020
Government announces £85m of its £750m coronavirus fund to be used as a match-fund for fundraising campaigns
As cloudThing reported back in April, the Government have set aside a support package of £750m for charities hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week the Government announced that £85m of that fund was being ear marked as a match-fund for specific charitable fundraising campaigns.
Oliver Dowden, UK Culture Secretary confirmed that the Government were encouraging funders, foundations, and philanthropists to apply for a share of this £85m Community Match Challenge fund which would be used to match their own contributions up until the 31st Aug.
Since COVID hit, the British people, businesses and philanthropists have stepped up and fundraised hundreds of millions of pounds to support the most vulnerable in our communities. We're now launching a Community Match Challenge as part of our multi-billion-pound package of support for our brilliant charity sector.
£4.8m of the £85m has already been assigned to the Voluntary and Community Sector Emergencies Partnership to help support national and local campaigns to help strengthen the voluntary secto’s response to COVID-19 as well as any future emergencies that may occur.
Commenting on the £85m, Mike Adamson of the British Red Cross said the grant would help strengthen the support it offered to the voluntary and community sector as well as government and statutory agencies as they respond to the next phase of Covid-19.
Over the coming months we will be setting up systems to improve coordination across our sector, capture unmet needs as a result of emergencies, and match and coordinate volunteer demand and supply. The money we have secured will go a long way in helping us to achieve our ambitions and establish a legacy for responding to future emergencies.
Sun Jul 26 2020