The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has launched an emergency fund for small charities and organisations as they battle the effects of the coronavirus. The CAF Coronavirus Emergency Fund will offer one-time grants of up to £10,000 to small charities, organisations and social enterprises that are struggling to survive.

Sir John Low, Chief Executive at CAF, said, ‘Charities do a vast amount to improve every aspect of daily life in our country and are crucial to helping people at this time of national crisis. Whether they are directly involved in helping fight the pandemic or whether they are struggling because of the disruption to normal life, they urgently need our help.

‘Some of the charities and small organisations we rely on are facing very difficult times. They are telling us they face financial difficulties, with fundraising events cancelled or postponed and volunteers rightly staying at home. These are the people who are delivering support in so many ways in every corner of the UK and we need them to be there during and after this crisis.’

The trustees at CAF have allocated £5 million to fund this emergency grant programme for charities and they expect further contributions to be added.

Sir John Low added, ‘The situation is dire and CAF has mobilised to try and help as many organisations as we can by offering immediate emergency funds.’

‘We aim to get this money to charities within days and CAF is working flat out to not just deliver these funds, but to remind the wider public of the essential role that charities and non-profit organisations are playing in the thick of this emergency.”

This fund is open to registered charities, community groups, social enterprises and other organisations with a charitable purpose that had a turnover of less than £1 million last year.

For more on the emergency fund see: http://www.cafonline.org