19 March
3:30pm: Chief executive of NAVCA Jane Ide calls on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to give the Voluntary and Community Sector “equitable treatment”
– 900k employed in VCS
– front line VCS crucial to immediate crisis response being planned by government
– wider sector will be critical to recovery phase
This is not soft & fluffy. We CANNOT let VCS fail, any more than business. Equitable treatment is all we ask. @RishiSunak https://t.co/sN1fD8EiRN— Jane Ide ?? (@Jane_NAVCA) March 19, 2020
3:10pm: Chief executive of ACEVO Vicky Browning echoes calls for financial support from government
The voluntary sector cannot do what it needs to do at this time of national crisis if it has gone bust. Charities and social enterprises need swift, simple and substantial funding now. “Whatever it takes” MUST cover charities @BorisJohnson @RishiSunak https://t.co/KGKgKSVzrn
— Vicky Browning (@browning_vicky) March 19, 2020
3pm: Founder of Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis announces £1m available to support small local charities
Martin Lewis OBE, founder of Money Saving Expert, has announced the release of £1m from his personal charity fund to support small registered charities, or local arms of bigger charities amid the escalating coronavirus crisis.
Grants of between £5,000–£20,000 are being made available to help with specific UK coronavirus-related poverty relief projects. Applications will close at 11.59pm on Wednesday 25 March 2020.
2pm: Age UK launches £10m coronavirus appeal
Age UK has launched a £10 million Coronavirus Emergency Appeal so it can be there for older people who need its support during the coronavirus pandemic.
Launching its appeal, Age UK said its telephone advice line has seen a 30% increase in demand since the beginning of the crisis, while a subsidiary of the charity, The Silver Line, has experienced a 40% increase in calls from older people who are deeply anxious, depressed and in need of reassurance and friendship.
“The reality is that in the weeks and months ahead older people are going to need Age UK in huge numbers, and to an extent we have never seen before,” Laurie Boult, fundraising director at Age UK said.
“We are determined to rise to the challenge and be there – to provide comfort, hope and practical support. But we can only do it if we have the funds that it will take.”
1:15pm: John Lewis Partnership launches £1million Community Support Fund
The John Lewis Partnership has announced a £1m Community Support Fund will be made available to communities across the UK to help those in need.
Teams in each shop will work with their local communities to choose the best way to use the fund. Help could include setting up additional local delivery services to support the self-isolating, the vulnerable, the elderly and those looking after them.
This will include delivering boxes of staples to local care homes and community groups, and donating products to create care packages for customers to share with vulnerable neighbours.
The John Lewis Partnership also announced that from Friday, Waitrose supermarkets would provide elderly and vulnerable customers, and those who look after them, with a prioritised and dedicated shopping hour.
1pm: Match funding appeal seeks to double first £200k donated to National Emergencies Trust campaign
Match funding platform The Big Give has launched a campaign to double the first £200k donated to the National Emergencies Trust’s Coronavirus Appeal.
Calling on the public to #DonateYourCommute, The Big Give is encouraging people to donate the amount they’re saving on their daily travel costs if they are now working from home.
Sir Alec Reed CBE, founder of The Big Give, said: “I hope that this match funding appeal will inspire those that are able to give to do so, encouraged by the concept that their donation could be doubled to support the people and communities that have been hit hardest by the virus.”
12:30pm: National Childbirth Trust switches to virtual antenatal courses in response to coronavirus
Parenting and new family charity the NCT has responded to the coronavirus crisis by moving its antenatal courses online.
The charity is now running virtual classes for expectant parents instead of its usual face-to-face courses, with over 50 courses delivered in the last week alone.
The charity has also set up a dedicated Covid-19 team so it can quickly adapt to changing guidance and respond appropriately to inquiries from parents.
9am: Keep connecting with donors, expert advises
Jen Shang, co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, told Third Sector that staying positive might be tricky in the face of a fundraising crisis, but is crucial if charities are to remain “a consistent, kind voice in people’s lives”.
“If you can think of ways to begin to send out daily heartwarming, positive messages to people then do it,” Shang said. “It’s not going to cost us a great deal to just do that for three weeks.”
Read the full story.
8am: Chief executive of Youth Leads UK calls for immediate government action
Saeed Atcha MBE said the charity was “massively struggling with cash flow”, and eating into its reserves.
Massively struggling with cash flow. A couple of confirmed funders (who don’t do online banking) unable to get trustees to sign cheques for the foreseeable meaning we’re into our minimal reserves and March’s payroll affected. Immediate action is needed. @browning_vicky @CFGtweets https://t.co/m6Rj0cOVmz
— Saeed Atcha MBE DL (@saeedatcha) March 19, 2020
7am: Chief executive of Scouts UK calls for government to publish charity support package
The response to my tweet yesterday & talking to other CEOs brings home the scale of risk that charities are facing as their demand increases. I was hoping there would be news of an emergency package of support for charities yesterday. Let’s hope there’s an announcement today. https://t.co/017W1sXDFK
— Matt Hyde (@matthyde) March 19, 2020
18 March
7pm: National Emergencies Trust launches major appeal for local charities
The National Emergencies Trust has launched its first appeal to raise funds for UK charities amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The NET, which was established last year to respond to UK emergencies as a domestic version of the Disasters Emergency Committee, launched the appeal on Wednesday evening.
The trust said its appeal would raise funds for local charities and grass-roots organisations “that can provide vital support to people in the quickest way possible”. Click here for the full story.
11.30am: Save the Children UK shuts up shops
Save the Children UK has told its retail staff that all the charity’s 126 shops will temporarily close from Thursday until the danger from coronavirus has passed.
The decision was taken primarily to protect the health of 3,500 volunteers, many of them elderly, who keep the shops running. Seventy retail employees are being asked to work from home on full pay.
The charity said it receives £900,000 a month in income from its shops, and around £60,000 a week of its profits from its shops are channelled into its aid work.
10am: National Lottery Community Fund promises to be flexible during outbreak
The National Lottery Community Fund has pledged to be flexible with grant recipients if they are adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
A statement from Dawn Austwick, chief executive of the grant-maker, said the fund wanted to support charities and community organisations as much as possible at a difficult time.
She said the NLCF would look to accommodate changes to activities and timelines because of the outbreak and consider any requests for support if organisations experienced financial pressures as a result of the situation.
The funder did not want grantees to have to worry about deadlines, said Austwick, and it would be flexible around reporting.