International Covid-19 Funding Sources

By Laurence A. Pagnoni, MPA

In a time of increased pressure on the charitable sector, our colleagues at Civil Society News have collated funding available for charities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The list is below for your immediate use.

£2m London fund 

London’s City Hall and City Bridge Trust have each contributed £1m to a fund for London charities affected by coronavirus. 

The emergency scheme will be coordinated by London Funders and available to organisations facing immediate financial pressures and uncertainty because of the coronavirus. These include increasing demands for services, higher staff absences, fewer volunteers and lower donations.

Full details of the new emergency support fund and how to apply will be published next week at www.londonfunders.org.uk. 

Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland

Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland have launched the Coronavirus Response and Recovery Fund.

Grants will be given to local charities and community organisations across Tyne & Wear and Northumberland in two stages: response, then recovery.

National Lottery Community Fund

The National Lottery Community Fund has started reaching out to grantees, partners, and other vital civil society organisations to understand how it can support communities and the sector during Covid-19. The Fund aims to share what it learns over the coming period. 

The National Emergencies Trust

NET has launched a coronavirus fundraising appeal to raise funds for local charities. The British Red Cross will be managing donations. 

NET will award grants and distribute money raised through a number of charitable organisations, for example local community foundations.

Wellcome Trust

The Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust are each contributing up to $50m, and the Mastercard Impact Fund is committing up to $25m, to speed the development of and access to therapies. The Covid-19 Therapeutic Accelerator will coordinate research efforts and remove barriers to drug development.

Scottish and Northern Irish funders

A summary of how Scottish funders have responded can be found here. A Covid-19 community fund has also been set up in Northern Ireland.

The Scottish government has released £350m to allay the impact of the virus,including £20m to a third sector resilience fund. This is to help charities with immediate cash flow problems.

£1m Money Saving Expert fund

Martin Lewis, the founder of Money Saving Expert, has pledged £1m to support small charities. In a statement, he said: “To try and help I’m going to release £1m from my personal charity fund to provide grants of £5,000 to £20,000 to small registered charities, or local arms of bigger charities, across the UK – to help with specific UK coronavirus-related poverty relief projects.”

The Indigo Trust

The Indigo Trust is making £2.5m available through emergency grants to help charities respond to the coronavirus emergency. The trust responded to an initiative from charity think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), which has published guidance for philanthropists on how to best support charities through to the crisis.

Steve Morgan £1m a week

Housebuilder Redrow’s founder Steve Morganhas also pledged £1m a week to charity, joining the list of celebrities and business people offering their support.

Cadent Foundation

Charities and community groups can apply for individual grants of between £100 and £100,000 as a new foundation, funded by the UK’s biggest gas network Cadent, opens for applications. It committed £240,000 to the Trussell Trust last week to help food banks respond to challenges presented by Covid-19. 

Support from Australian Government

As part of a second stimulus package in response to the economic support through the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Federal Government has now included support for Australia’s charity and not-for-profit sector. Click here for a summary of the plan.

Emergency Relief Funds for Africa

The King Baudouin Foundation United States (KBFUS) is launching Emergency Response Funds for African countries at risk of being dangerously impacted by COVID-19. Each fund will pool contributions from donors, and distribute their generosity to local nonprofits and community-based organizations working on the frontlines of their country’s response – translating public health announcements, distributing meals to children, and providing much needed services to the most vulnerable groups.

Terra Foundation COVID-19 Relief Fund for Visual Arts Organizations

The Chicago-based Terra Foundation for American Art has announced an $8 million emergency funding commitment for visual arts organizations impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund provides emergency support to Chicago, U.S., and international arts organizations, as well as relief over the next two years for arts organizations in the U.S. The ongoing relief for U.S. museums is in the form of a new two-year grant program for the purpose of funding museums’ collection projects, with a focus on support for visual arts organizations committed to engaging with art of the United States. Click here for full details.