Comic Relief, the National Emergencies Trust and the Lloyds Bank Foundation are among 19 funders to receive millions in match-funded cash, the government has announced.
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and The Greggs Foundation will also receive money from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, in the final phase of funding from April’s emergency coronavirus package.
A total of £85m was available from the government funds to be added to money already raised by the foundations, doubling the amount available for distribution.
In some cases, charities will be invited to apply for this funding, while in others distribution will take place through existing partners.
£36m shared by three foundations
The single largest match-fund grant will go to CAF, which will receive £20m for work alongside the Association of British Insurers. Another £10m will go to the Steve Morgan Foundation, and £6m to the Onside Foundation.
When the programme launched, the government said that it anticipated matching applications “in the £5 to £20m range”, but most of the successful applications are worth less than £5m.
The Steve Morgan Foundation supports frontline organisations in the North West of England and national organisations.
Steve Morgan, founder and chair of Steve Morgan Foundation, said: “We are delighted to have been selected by DCMS and feel that this is recognition and a vindication of our work to date. There is a lot of hard work ahead but we relish the challenge. We know that there’s a huge amount of need in our region and thanks to this funding we can help make a difference to thousands of lives.”
Morgan set up the charity in 2001. In 2017 he donated £200m in shares of Redrow PLC, a housebuilding firm he founded, to expand the foundation's activity.
In the year to 31 March 2019, the charity made grants totalling £8.8m.
Culture secretary: We are supporting communities
Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, said: “I’m delighted to be working alongside some of the country’s specialist funders and philanthropists to double the money reaching incredibly worthy causes, benefiting as many people as possible.
“Whether that’s helping families to provide nutritious meals, using innovative tech solutions to reach the most vulnerable or supporting the mental health of our young people, it is vital we continue to do all we can to support our communities in the months ahead.”
Not just steak bakes
Tracy Lynch, manager of the Greggs Foundation, which will receive £1m in match-funding, said: “The Foundation has now been supporting the communities that Greggs serves for over 30 years, and today we have more than 500 clubs in primary schools across the country, providing over 35,000 children with free breakfasts every morning.
“The government’s £750m support package for charities has provided us with the opportunity to boost this with £1m from the community match challenge fund, which will enable us to support many more families across the country.
“We are delighted to be part of this initiative and we’ll use the funding to continue making a huge difference to families who find themselves struggling, especially given the additional challenges many households are now facing as they deal with the wider impact of Covid-19.”
The Founders Pledge, through which entrepreneurs commit to donating at least 2% of their personal proceeds to charity when selling their business, will receive £1.56m.
Controversial programme
The match-funding programme was criticised last month when it emerged that DCMS had announced the scheme despite a promise to review existing funding prior to any decision.
DCMS said at the time that it had not held a formal review in order “to avoid any unnecessary delays in funding reaching charities and organisations that need it.”
Full list of recipients
The full list of the 19 Community Match Challenge recipients is:
- ARK - £4.75m
- Charities Aid Foundation with Association of British Insurers - £20m
- Church Revitalisation Trust / Love Your Neighbour - £4m
- Comic Relief - £5m
- Founders Pledge - £1.56m
- Global’s Make Some Noise - £1.5m
- Greggs Foundation - £1m
- Henry Smith Charity - £2m
- Lloyds Bank Foundation - £5m
- Localgiving Foundation - £1m
- National Emergencies Trust - £2.5m
- The OnSide Foundation - £6m
- Pears Foundation - £5.5m
- Rank Foundation - £5m
- Smallwood Trust - £2.1m
- Stefanou Foundation - £2.5m
- Steve Morgan Foundation - £10m
- The Coalfields Regeneration Trust - £1m
- The Vardy Foundation - £2m
