Coronavirus: funding and financial help

Charities and businesses may be anxious about finances and funding at this time, as well as the worry for individuals. Here we have some of the funds and advice available to help.

This page will be updated regularly so keep checking in for the latest information.

Don’t forget, you can sign up for our monthly Funding Bulletin which has a roundup of funds and awards available. Find out more here.

Page updated 11 September 14:30pm

Advice and information

- The Money Advice Service offers guidance and an action plan to help you manage your finances at this time.
- The government have announced a package of support to public services, businesses and people through this difficult time. This includes a rates holiday for village halls. You can find details here.
- The government have updated guidance on managing financial difficulties in your charity caused by coronavirus.
- For business support sign up to the York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s briefings.
- For webinars and digital resources to help you apply for funding, visit our Community Gateway.

Please see below for funding available:

Businesses, charities and community groups

Sirius Minerals Foundation is inviting local charities and voluntary groups on the North Yorkshire coast to apply for grants of between £500 to £15,000 to help towards costs of adapting how they work in a new environment created by the pandemic. Deadline: 15 Sept
Social Enterprise Support Fund – Grants of between £10,000 and £300,000 are available to help social enterprises during Covid-19. Applications for Round 3 open at 1pm on Thursday 10 September and close at 1pm on Thursday 17 September 2020.
UK Community Foundations – B.A.M.E Infrastructure Support Fund seeks to support BAME-led organisations that can help other BAME groups and organisations access their local Community Foundation and secure National Emergencies Trust (NET) funds from them during the Coronavirus crisis. Grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 over a maximum of three months are available. Applications will be considered by an independent panel every week and awards made as quickly as possible thereafter. The panel will award grants as applications are received from an open call on a rolling basis.
Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government announced £20 million new funding to help businesses across England get back on track. Small and medium sized businesses in England can access grants between £1,000 – £5,000 for new equipment and technology and specialist advice. You can find details of the one for the Leeds City Region, in partnership with the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub, here.
As a result of Covid-19 crisis Linley and Simpson are looking to support local schools, sports clubs and community groups with their new Community Fund throughout 2020.
Grants from Metro charity of up to £15,000 will soon be available to LGBTQ+ organisations and groups with income under £100,000 to support their vital role in supporting LGBTQ+ communities through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond.
The latest funding round of the Knabs Ridge Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund is now open. Grants of £500-£2.5k with priority to small local charities & voluntary & community groups based in parishes of: Felliscliffe, Hampsthwaite, Birstwith, Norwood, Menwith with Darley, Haverah Park with Beckwithshaw and Fewston/ Washburn Valley in Harrogate District. Deadline: 29 September.
Allchurches Group – Hope Beyond – Grants of up to £50,000 are available for churches and Christian charities to help them and the communities they support to adapt to the challenges and opportunities presented by the Coronavirus crisis.
The Health Foundation Covid-19 Research Programme is offering funding of between £100k–£200k per project for a duration of up to 12 months to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic (application deadline: 30 September). The programme is prioritising funding for UK-focused projects that explore how health and social care service delivery has changed in light of Covid-19 or the impact of Covid-19 on health inequalities and the wider determinants of health.
Charity Bank have details on the expanded Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund available to charities and social enterprises.
Small and micro businesses who are not eligible for other business support grants may be able to apply to the government’s coronavirus Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund. Funding priorities and deadlines will vary by local authority.
Asda Foundation has two grant streams developed in response to Covid-19: the Hygiene Grant and the Healthy Holiday Grant.
The National Lottery Community Fund has updated guidance for grant holders.
NYCC Locality Budgets Each county councillor has a budget of £5k per year which they can allocate small amounts of funding to support specific local activities.
The NYCC Stronger Communities has a variety of grants available for community and voluntary groups that may need small scale financial support for local projects at this time due to Coronavirus. Please contact your Local Stronger Communities Delivery Manager for further information.
Tesco’s Bags of Help COVID-19 Communities Fund has emergency grants of £500 to organisations supporting vulnerable groups. The streamlined application and payment process means a quick turnaround. NB. due to overwhelming demand the fund is now closed in Harrogate and York areas.
If you’re a small business (this includes village halls and community buildings) you may be eligible for the government’s Business Support Grant Funding.
Two Ridings Community Foundation is working with the National Emergencies Trust to establish a fund with grants up to £10,000 to support community groups through this unprecedented time. The focus of the fund will be to offer community organisations emergency funding to deal with emerging issues in the community as a result of the continuing threat of coronavirus. Applications to this fund will be assessed on an ongoing basis subject to available funds. Apply here.
The Dulverton Trust is prioritising applications from charities that meet their guidelines and are either (a) well-placed to deliver vital services to vulnerable communities affected by the current crisis or (b) charities with which they have an existing relationship.

Sports, arts and heritage

Historic England have grants of up to £25,000 for urgent maintenance and repairs of local historic buildings and sites so that they are able to reopen to the public subject of course to Covid-19 restrictions.
BFI – Culture recovery fund for independent cinemas – £30m has been allocated in England as part of the UK Government’s cultural recovery package providing £1.57 billion to support Britain’s world-class cultural, arts and heritage institutions. Non-profit and independent cinemas who are facing challenges due to Covid-19 will be able to apply. The fund opens on the 10 August and will close on the 30 October.
Sport England will match fund up to £10k of money raised by sports clubs and organisations who are struggling because of Covid-19.
Arts Council England have announced an emergency package of funding for individuals and organisations working in the cultural sector. Deadline for Round 1 is 21 August.

Vulnerable and at risk groups

Lloyds Bank Foundation has launched a £7.4m fund for charities affected by Covid-19. The fund is open to charities with an income between £25,000 and £1 million a year that are helping people overcome complex social issues such as dependency, homelessness and domestic abuse. A minimum of a quarter of this funding will go to charities that are led by and for people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. Applications close at 5pm on Friday 11 September 2020. For more information click here.
The Foyle Foundation has grants of £1,000 – £10,000 for smaller, grass-roots and local charities across the UK which are currently delivering services to the young, vulnerable, elderly, disadvantaged or the general community either directly or through online support.
Lloyds Bank Foundations £7.4 million Covid funding aimed at supporting charities to recover beyond the immediate crisis. Small and medium sized charities with an income of between £25,000 and £1 million a year that are helping people overcome complex social issues such as dependency, homelessness and domestic abuse are eligible to apply. Deadline: 11 September.
Homelessness organisations affected directly by Covid-19 can now apply for funding of £5.5million in a second round of grants distributed by Homeless Link. The funding aims to provide emergency financial assistance to local homelessness organisations, preventing closure, service cuts or staff redundancies threatened by increased operational costs and a loss of fundraised income due to the Coronavirus. Grants of £10,000 – £100,000 are available depending on your turnover. Deadline: 14 September.
Grants of £1,000 – £3,000 are available from Common Call Fund for Black-led social enterprises and charities so that they are able to survive and even thrive in the Covid period. They are specifically looking for organisations that are creating impact in deprived communities and providing services to people that have been adversely affected by the Covid crisis in terms of physical health, mental health and/or financially. There is no time limit on the grant and it does not have to be set towards a particular project.
Comic Relief: Apply For A Covid-19 Community Grant (England)
Grants of £4,000 are available for grass roots, not for profit voluntary or community organisations (including registered charities/companies) with an annual turnover of under £250,000 in order for them to respond to the current crisis and recover through enhanced Capacity building grants of £1000. Check the website to see Comic Relief’s strategic themes. Please note that there is particular interest in receiving applications from charities who support BAME and LGBTQ communities, who have been disproportionally affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
Independent Age has funding for small organisations working with older people who have been hardest hit by the coronavirus. Next deadline: 11 September.
The British Red Cross Hardship Fund provides short term financial help for people who can’t afford the essentials. The British Red Cross’s Referral Partner Organisations can register people for cash assistance. They can request a one-off payment of £120 or a three month grant
Community groups in Richmondshire who are supporting vulnerable residents can apply to the Richmondshire Coronavirus Community Grant scheme for cash handouts of £50 to £500.
The UK insurance and long-term savings industry has launched the Covid-19 Support Fund to help people and communities hardest hit by the coronavirus.
Ryedale voluntary and community sector groups can apply for grants of up to £4k from Ryedale District Council to deliver their coronavirus response activities to vulnerable residents.
The Childs Charitable trust has launched an Emergency Funding programme to support charities that are experiencing financial difficulties due to coronavirus.
Young asylum seekers or refugees can apply to the Hope for the Young Emergency Relief Fund. The funding can be used for buying food, medication, toiletries or topping up gas or electric meters or mobiles. 10 August update: funding has been temporarily paused.
Food distributors who are directing surplus food to vulnerable people during coronavirus can apply to WRAP for funding. Deadline: 28 August
The Alpkit Foundation has funding for individuals or groups who are helping people affected by coronavirus, such as the homeless, elderly or vulnerable.
Grants of £5k+ are available from Standard Life Foundation for charitable activity directly related to the pandemic, but which meet the Foundation’s remit of research, campaigning and policy work to improve living standards and personal finances for people on low to middle incomes.
If you work with people who may be struggling to pay their energy bills because of the impact of the coronavirus, the British Gas Energy Trust can help.
The Young Women’s Trust has set up an Emergency Fund in response to the Coronavirus outbreak for young, low-paid women who will be the worst hit during the Covid-19 lockdown, especially those likely to work in a sector forced to stop trading because of the lockdown, such as in hospitality, retail or transport. Young women can’t apply for funding themselves, but can be referred to the fund by Women’s Aid, Women’s Resource Centre, or Women for Refugee Women who are identifying women who would benefit most from the fund, which will provide relief payments of £150 to young women ages 18-30 who are facing financial crisis and struggling to afford utilities, food, or rent.
Mind have launched the Coronavirus Mental Health Support Fund for voluntary sector organisations to continue providing, or to provide additional, mental health services at this time.
Organisations specialising in giving social welfare legal advice who are struggling due to Covid-19 can can apply to the Community Justice Fund.

Call us 01904 704 177

Funding and financial help