All Capacity Building

Martin Lewis is releasing £1,000,000 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.

Examples could include foodbanks, charities engaged in community aid, financial advice help and more. The hope is to get the money distributed within the next couple of weeks, and Martin Lewis is looking for projects that are up and running, or are in the process of being set up – to help to deliver help at speed.

Many small VCS organisations are on a knife edge. They are facing an unprecedented demand on services, along with a loss of staff and volunteers as more people self-isolate, due to showing symptoms or being in higher risk groups. Trading efforts have been hit. There has also been - and will continue to be - a devastating loss of income due to cancellation of fundraising events and regular small donors being more cautious about what they do with their money.

The Coronavirus is having a huge impact across GM Poverty Action’s network. Public, private and VCSE sector organisations are thinking about how they maintain and adapt services to response to emerging needs. The situation will have a significant impact on people experiencing poverty, and on responses to poverty, both in the short and long-term.

GMCVO conducted a survey in 2018 to obtain a quick snapshot of the level of public sector funding into the VCSE sector across GM. The responses received were subsequently used to inform discussions with colleagues within the GM Health and Social Care Partnership about the impact of a Memorandum of Understanding between the GM VCSE sector and the GM Health and Social Care Partnership on funding into the VCSE sector.