Lloyds Bank Foundation is launching £7.4m in funding to help charities recover from the Covid-19 crisis.

The Foundation’s Covid Recovery Fund aims to help around 140 charities with an unrestricted grant of up to £50,000 each.

It will also offer access to a “development partner to help charities navigate a tumultuous future” says the Foundation.

The fund is open to small and medium sized charities with an income of between £25,000 and £1m a year, which are supporting people affected by social issues, including mental health challenges, homelessness and domestic abuse.

“From our conversations with small and local charities and the wider sector, we know that to be able recover from this health crisis charities need unrestricted funding and the space and support to adapt their organisational, income generation and service delivery models which have been significantly impacted by COVID-19,” said the Foundation.

Applications will open from 10am on 3 August and close at 5pm on 11 September.

A priority for the funding is to help charities alter the way they operate, source income and deliver services due to the outbreak. Since the Covid-19 lockdown many charities have looked to pivot their support, operations and fundraising online due to social distancing measures.

The Foundation added: “This kind of work is complex, it takes time and involves the whole organisation and with the COVID Recovery Fund programme, a development partner will be appointed to work hand in hand with charities through this process.”

BAME communities

A minimum of a quarter of the funding will go to charities that are led by and for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities.

“We want to ensure that this funding is distributed equitably to the charities that are best placed to serve the communities who need it most,” said the Foundation.

In addition, the Foundation is to relax its funding eligibility critieria for charities.

“Following a comprehensive review of our grants portfolio and the wider sector, we found that some charities in specific places were being excluded by our criteria. We recognise that many of these charities often provide a response to a specific social issue such as homelessness or domestic abuse alongside helping communities and individuals around a range of other issues,” said the Foundation.

A webinar is to be staged by the Lloyds Bank foundation on 11 August to give charities a chance to learn more about the funding.

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