COVID-19 funding over £10,000 – including Coronavirus Community Support Fund
The Government allocation to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) has now closed for England
We’ve closed the Government allocation of funding to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund to new applications and should be finished distributing these funds by the end of October 2020.
You can still apply for National Lottery funding to help your community through COVID-19 With the COVID-19 pandemic still with us, we'll continue to support people and communities most adversely impacted by COVID-19.
The Government allocation to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) has now closed for England We’ve closed the Government allocation of funding to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund to new applications and should be finished distributing these funds by the end of October 2020.
You can still apply for National Lottery funding to help your community through COVID-19 With the COVID-19 pandemic still with us, we'll continue to support people and communities most adversely impacted by COVID-19.
You can only apply once for COVID-19 emergency funding in England, either for less than £10,000, over £10,000 or over £10,000 for partnerships. So please make sure that you’re applying for what you need.
You can apply if you already have existing grants with The National Lottery Community Fund. If you've already got COVID-19 funding through Reaching Communities, you'll need to tell us how the funding you're applying for now is different from that.
We know that small and medium-sized charities are likely to be more vulnerable right now. So we encourage applications from those organisations, including micro charities, though we can consider applications from larger organisations on a case-by-case basis.
We also encourage organisations to apply who are led by people with lived experience.
We can also fund a partnership (both new partnerships, and one that’s already been set up) if the applying organisation is one of the eligible organisations listed below. They can be made up of the types of organisations we’ve listed below. Find out more about applying for funding as a partnership.
Who can apply
You can apply if you’re an 'incorporated organisation' that serves communities within England and is one of the following:
a registered, exempt or excepted charity
a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
a community interest company (by guarantee or shares)
a community benefit society.
If you are a company limited by shares, a company limited by guarantee (which is not charitable), or a co-operative society, to apply you would need to meet the following criteria:
have a clear social mission which, in the reasonable opinion of the Fund Administrator, is analogous to a recognised charitable purpose
distribute less than 50% of post-tax profits and reinvests at least 51% surpluses into pursuing its social mission
have a constitutional or contractual lock on its social mission, its dividend and surplus distribution policy and “asset-lock”
carry out, or have ambitions to carry out, trading activities in support of and which are causally linked to its social mission
offer its products and services for general public benefit without restrictions and barriers, such as affordability
be open to undertaking an independent social impact audit
have remuneration and benefits policy which it is willing to make publicly accessible, and which is reasonable and proportionate relative to the market practice for VCSEs
in the case of a sale of the organisation, the directors make best efforts to preserve the social mission under new ownership
can demonstrate that no private benefit will arise from the Grant
no state aid issues have been identified.
Who cannot apply
We cannot accept applications from:
unincorporated organisations
organisations that have already applied to us for COVID-19 funding, including the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, since 22 May 2020
organisations that have already applied to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund and been told they were unsuccessful
organisations that already agreed to transfer their Reaching Communities application to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund
statutory bodies (including town, parish and community councils)
schools
individuals
sole traders
organisations based outside the UK
anyone who’s applying for another organisation
organisations that look to make profits and share these profits out privately. This includes organisations without the right asset locks. Or organisations that can pay profits to directors or shareholders
organisations that don’t have at least two people on their board or committee who aren’t married, in a civil partnership, in a long-term relationship, living together at the same address, or related by blood.
We will support you to continue to deliver activities to people affected by the pandemic. We can also help if you're struggling financially because of COVID-19 We know that COVID-19 has affected lots of organisations' finances. We can help you make up for some of the losses, so you can keep helping your community through the pandemic and continue to support them after.
What types of projects we’re prioritising
We want to support projects and organisations playing a vital role in helping their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. We will prioritise:
Organisations supporting people and communities who experience disproportionate challenge and difficulty as a result of the Covid-19 crisis
This category includes, for instance, organisations supporting older people, disabled people (including people with long-term health conditions) and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities, all of whom are facing specific challenges during the current crisis. It also includes organisations who provide advice and support to those pushed in crisis as a result of the pandemic. This category also includes those organisations supporting people and their families with end of life care.
Organisations providing services and support for vulnerable people, for which there will be increased demand as a result of the COVID-19 crisis This category includes, for instance, organisations supporting people and families who face financial hardship as a result of the pandemic. It also includes organisations working to prevent domestic abuse and violence against protected groups, those working with homeless people and those supporting vulnerable children and young people. Finally, we also know that there is increased demand for mental health support and support to mitigate the increased challenges of loneliness and isolation.
Organisations which connect communities and support communities to work together to respond to Covid-19 This category includes organisations supporting local community activity, including volunteering, and community organising. It also includes organisations supporting community and sector infrastructure, including public information. We know there is increased demand for support with the development of digital, data and technology capabilities. Finally, we want to support building capacity and infrastructure of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and other marginalised communities to ensure they are in a better position after the initial emergency response.
As far as possible, we're also looking for organisations to be people-led, strengths-based and connected
People-led
We believe that people understand what's needed in their communities better than anyone. So it’s important to us that you involve your community in the design, development and delivery of the activities you’re planning.
You might want to ask yourself:
Have I spoken to the people in my community?
Have the people in my community told me what they need and what's important to them?
Have I listened to them and used what they've said to create my project?
This short video explains it well. It might be helpful when you’re putting your application together.
Strengths-based
We’d like to support people and communities to build on the knowledge, skills and experience they already have, to make the changes they want.
You might want to ask yourself:
What’s already working in my community?
How will my project add to these positive things that are already working?
How will my project make the most of any resources that are already helping my community?
Connected
We want to know that you’ve a good understanding of other activities and services in your community. We’d like to see how you’ll compliment these. So you can add value to what’s already there.
You might want to ask yourself:
Have I spoken to other groups in the area that are doing something similar to my project?
Have I thought about how we can all help each other?
If your project works with children, young people or vulnerable adults
campaigning activities (this fund is to support the delivery of direct services for vulnerable people)
religious activities (we can fund religious organisations if their project benefits the wider community and doesn’t include religious content)
political or lobbying activities
things you’ve spent money on in the past and are looking to claim for now
loan repayments.
Managing your emergency COVID-19 funding in England - including Coronavirus Community Support Fund grants
If your organisation’s awarded emergency COVID-19 funding in England, including from the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, you'll need to manage your funding a bit differently. Read more about what to expect with managing your emergency COVID-19 funding in England.
You can also watch this video to get the above information in British Sign Language (BSL) for those who are hard of hearing:
