On Wednesday 8th April 2020, it was announced by Chancellor, Rishni Sunak that the Government will pledge £750 million to support charitable organisations and vulnerable groups that require immediate emergency funding. Sunak announced £750m of funding for the charity sector, £370m of which will support small, local charities working with vulnerable people.

Dr Lynne Guyton FRSA, CEO at John Lyon’s Charity said:
“John Lyon’s Charity is committed to helping its grantees and CYP groups through this unprecedented crisis in any way we can.

We welcome this investment from the Government but know that there is lots more to be done. We hope to see some of this funding to be targeted to young people and vulnerable groups as we wish to support as many groups as possible, especially some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. Government funding or not, we stand by our groups and promise to do all we can during these uncertain and worrying times. We want to be the torch to help those find their way out of this darkness of uncertainty. We are here to help keep the lights on”.

John Lyon’s Charity has already been closely working with London Funders since the outbreak of Covid-19, alongside a consortium of other funding bodies on the London Community Response Fund. All funding organisations share the same goal of responding to the needs of communities affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and hopes this pledge from the Government will highlight the needs of the voluntary sector and encourage new organisations to contribute to the fund.

There are two kinds of grant that organisations could apply for at present via the London Community Response Fund:
Crisis response grants: this programme specifically focuses on urgent needs, such as food, mobile phones and other essential services to ensure groups and organisations can continue to function during this difficult period. Grants are now available for up to £10,000.

Sue Porter, Manager at Home-Start Ealing said she applied to the London Community Response Fund as soon as it opened,
“As a frontline service, Home-Start Ealing has had to innovate greatly the last couple of weeks to meet the needs of the vulnerable families we support. We needed funds quickly to be able to purchase and supply essential needs, especially nappies, wipes, formula and sanitary products which are not found in regular food deliveries but are essential to our families many of whom cannot go out due to complex personal circumstances. We are very grateful to John Lyon’s Charity for funding our bid so quickly and enabling us to meet the needs of our vulnerable families in these challenging times.”

Delivering differently: launches on Thursday 9th April, with grants available between £10,000 and £50,000. This provides larger grants for organisations to deliver their services in new ways to ensure they can continue to support Londoners through the coming months.

John Lyon’s Charity has pledged £500,000 to support groups through these difficult times. To hear more about the emergency funding opportunity, please visit www.jlc.london.