The government has published the names of the 1,500 English charities to which it awarded £71m-worth of funding from its Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund.
The funding, distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund, formed the bulk of former chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s over £100m pledge in his 2023 spring budget to support the sector during a period of increased demand and through the cost-of-living crisis.
Charities that offered food and emergency supplies, emergency shelter, safe spaces, warmth and financial or housing advice to low-income households and individuals were eligible to apply, with requests for funding totalling more than £160m last year.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) last week published the names of the charities that successfully received grants between £10,000 and £75,000, most of which were smaller organisations.
Age UK: ‘This funding couldn’t have been more needed’
A total of £1.75m was delivered to 32 local member charities of national federation Age UK.
A spokesperson from the national charity for older people told Civil Society: “This funding couldn’t have been more needed.
“As a result of the cost-of-living crisis, we’ve seen a sharp increase in demand for support from older people struggling to make ends meet. At the same time, it’s costing more than ever to keep our services open.
“Funding has contributed towards the costs of answering increased calls to our national advice line from people needing help including support claiming the welfare benefits they are entitled to.
“The advice line has answered over 167,000 calls to date this year already.
“The funding has also helped local Age UKs provide practical frontline support to older people facing impossible choices, such as whether to turn on their heating or buy their weekly shop.
“We remain very grateful to DCMS and the National Lottery Community Fund for making this possible.”
£25.5m of the remaining fund
The remaining £25.5m of the £101.5m is dedicated to the VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme, which aims to help civil society organisations in England improve their energy efficiency.
It is being delivered by a consortium of partners, led by Groundwork UK and supported by Locality, Social Investment Business, Energy Saving Trust and Centre for Sustainable Energy.
A full list of recipients will be published when delivery of the programme is complete.
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