New £9.5m fund to support community-led organisations in England

A new £9.5million funding scheme to support community-led organisations in England affected by the Covid-19 crisis has been unveiled.  The Covid-19 Community-Led Organisations Recovery Scheme (CCLORS) will provide grants up to £100,000 to community-led organisations in England facing severe financial difficulties as a direct result of the coronavirus lockdown. The scheme is open to all types of community-led organisation affected by the crisis with applications particularly welcome from organisations led by or directly supporting Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Power to Change, Locality, The Ubele Initiative and Social Investment Business are running the scheme on behalf of the National Lottery Community Fund. The scheme will have three application rounds, with the first round opening for applications between 10am and 1pm later this month, on Tuesday 28 July 2020. The second round will open on Tuesday 4 August and the third round on Tuesday 11 August. Potential applicants can register to attend a free webinar this Thursday, 23 July, to find out more about the criteria and application process. The scheme is part of the National Lottery Community Fund’s Coronavirus Community Support Fund. The Fund has been split into several funding streams aimed at different parts of the charity and social sector. All applicants should choose the most relevant funding stream for their organisation and should not apply to more than one fund. Vidhya Alakeson, CEO of Power to Change, said: “Community-led organisations have been at the forefront of delivering vital support for local people during the Covid-19 crisis. They stepped-up, ensuring the most vulnerable in our society were not forgotten. Now, many face impending financial crisis. This new recovery scheme is there to help them transition through this challenging period, to ensure they survive and continue their vital work.” Yvonne Field, Ubele Founder and CEO, said: “The Ubele Initiative is pleased to be a strategic partner in the design and delivery of the CCLORS programme. It offers much needed emergency funding and organisational support to community based organisations including those which are BAME led and/or are working to support local BAME communities. We know that front line organisations have struggled to keep afloat in these unprecedented times and a timely injection of cash and professional assistance will help them begin to create more resilient organisations for the future.”    

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/2OJVOEl