More than £281,000 in grants 'vital' to Northampton charities surviving coronavirus pandemic

Grants have been described as 'vital' to charities surviving the coronavirus pandemic by the founder of a Northampton foundation.

More than £281,000 has been handed out in 45 grants to 38 charities based in the town since March, according to analysis by the JPIMedia Data unit, which this newspaper is part of.

The Lewis Foundation has received £38,900 in four grants relating to Covid-19 - the second-highest amount in Northampton - all for essential services or to pay the bills.

Co-founder Lorraine Lewis told the Chronicle & Echo: "Predominantly, before Covid, we used to fundraise and that was sufficient but overnight that stopped.

"People were still needing services and we needed to find a way to do them without our main source of money.

"So grants were fundamental to providing our services - I don't know what position we would be in without them, I don't want to think about it."

A £32,000 grant from the National Lottery ensured The Lewis Foundation, which gives free gifts and support packs to adult cancer patients in hospital every week, would last six months.

While three grants from the Northamptonshire Community Foundation paid for printing and emergency care parcels for cancer patients who were now shielding at home or in hospital alone.

Mrs Lewis said: "The grants were vital - it has helped as while we've had the grants, we've been able to look at other ways to fundraise.

"But it depends on how long this goes on for as the longer it does, we could be back in the same position as we were in March."

Grants to Northampton charities vary from £25,000 to cover a charity's core costs or £1,000 to help a family centre feed people.

There are around 200,000 charities across the UK and many have received a financial lifeline during the coronavirus crisis through grants.

Analysis of 360Giving’s Covid-19 Grants Tracker by the JPIMedia Data Unit found over £123 million (11,632 grants) in emergency Covid-19 grants has been awarded to over 9,000 recipients across the UK.

While it is not an exhaustive list of all grants charities have received during the pandemic, the data provides a unique snapshot of how charities have survived the lockdown period. The figures were correct as of September 9.

David Kane, Product Lead at 360Giving, explained, “We know it doesn't show the full picture – not all local grantmakers have published data about their grants – but it does show the range of projects and charities that continue to help keep their local communities going.”

The multi-million pound grants from the likes of The National Lottery Community Fund and BBC Children in Need have provided essential economic support during the lockdown.

But as Matt Whittaker, chief executive of Pro Bono Economics says, the future looks challenging.

“The combination of economic recession, rising unemployment and the looming tightening of lockdown adds up to a gloomy backdrop for the sector in the run up to Christmas," he said.

Pro Bono Economics estimates 60,000 charity jobs will be lost by the end of the year with the largest cuts affecting frontline service delivery and fundraising teams.

According to the 'charity sector tracker' published by the economists, in partnership with the Institute of Fundraising and the Charity Finance Group, one in three charities say they will be unable to meet the anticipated increase in demand as further restrictions are announced.

Mr Whittaker added: “Charities and other civil society organisations play a vital role in the day-to-day lives of many millions of us – and even more so at times of crisis.

“As the chancellor reconsiders his support for businesses in light of the second wave, it’s crucial that he focuses also on the needs of those charities which do so much to help.”

A government spokesperson said charities will continue to benefit from financial support schemes in the upcoming months.

"We are providing at pace an unprecedented multi-billion-pound package of government support for charities," they said.

"We are working flat out to ensure help reaches those who need it most, with funding being distributed at pace.

"Charities will continue to benefit from this major investment in the sector and also the wider government financial support schemes in the coming months."