The National Lottery Community Fund: crisis funding update

It has been an incredible few months since lockdown began and we started to focus on getting much-needed emergency support out to communities and the sector.

Our funding teams have been hard at work getting National Lottery emergency support out to people. In total, since lockdown began, we have successfully distributed £200 million* in funding to over 7,100 organisations across the UK to help communities respond to the impact of COVID-19.

Projects, such as Mum Bub Hub in Newham, have swiftly adapted their services during the crisis. The project offers before and after birth care for vulnerable and at-risk women in Black and minority ethnic (BAME) communities and experienced a 75% increase in calls to its helpline when lockdown started. They received almost £10,000 to help them increase support.

In West Dunbartonshire, a grant of almost £7,000 is helping Carers of Dunbartonshire to enable unpaid carers to stay in contact with their loved-ones, providing much-needed emotional support, with new IT equipment and mobile phones.

Dove House Community Trust in Derry/Londonderry received £4,700 to provide vital supplies for local people and to set up ‘Walk around the World,’ a weekly walking challenge during the pandemic.

In Cardiff and Newport, Race Equality First has received £10,000 to support people from BAME communities who work in jobs affected by the crisis, such as taxi-drivers and restaurant owners, with advice and guidance in community languages.

Alongside National Lottery funding, we are also distributing money from Government. From the £200 million allocated to the Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) in England, we have already committed just under £8.5million of emergency funding to almost 500 organisations supporting communities in crisis across the country, with much more to come as our funding teams work at pace to get the money out to where it is needed.

Projects that have already received funding from the CCSF include Ultimate Counselling Training and Support Services, in Barking. The organisation provides community-based mental health services and received just under £10,000 from the CCSF to deliver food parcels and offer mental health counselling to vulnerable people from BAME communities, including older people and the bereaved.

In Cheshire, Ruby’s Fund provides support to families with special educational needs and disabilities. It has received £30,857 to provide telephone therapy, peer support groups, counselling sessions and wellbeing and first aid workshops to parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities, who have experienced loneliness and anxiety during lockdown.

Fearless Youth Association in Nottingham was formed to reduce violence and crime through creativity. A £46,876 grant from the CCSF will be used to expand the organisation’s media work by producing, editing and broadcasting content made for - and aimed at - young people to reduce social isolation and loneliness experienced throughout coronavirus lockdown.

Dawn Austwick, CEO of The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “From the very beginning of this crisis, the way communities have rallied and responded has been incredible. As we know, demand for funding remains high across the sector. We’re delighted to have already distributed £200 million to communities across the UK since lockdown, including the first grants made from the CCSF in England. We’re proud of our team and of being able to support communities and the sector through these unprecedented times. We will continue to work hard to get this vital funding out to where it is needed most.”

Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Barran said: "The work of our dedicated charities and volunteers has been vital during the pandemic, and it will continue to be so as we recover and rebuild. I am delighted that this funding from the Government and National Lottery is already having such an impact supporting vulnerable people and families across the country. We are working hard to get financial support to those who need it as quickly as possible."

For more on the funding available to communities see HERE

The Coronavirus Community Support Fund opened on Friday 22nd May and makes available £200m in Government funding aimed primarily at small to medium organisations in England, alongside National Lottery Funding.

* This £200m covers the period of 24th March – 24th June and is the totality of funding The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded in this period to community projects across the UK.