The Pears Family Charitable Foundation announced that in response to the COVID-19 crisis it would be increasing its giving by 50 per cent in the coming year, as well as making all of their grants unrestricted.

With this new goal in place, Pears expects its expenditure to be approximately £30 million this year, up from £20 million. This amount is one of the largest sums allocated in response to coronavirus in the UK – another being the £16.5 million designated by the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust recently. The funds will be allocated to Pears’ existing partners.

In addition to making more money available, Pears has also pledged flexibility for its funding, saying that it decided that all of the foundation’s new funding this year would be allocated to support core costs. Exceptions include fulfilling existing capital or project commitments, or if linked directly to COVID-19 impact alleviation.

“We know that the Coronavirus outbreak is having a substantial impact on individuals, communities and charities across the UK,” wrote the Pears Foundation in a statement. “Our deepest thanks and appreciation go out to all of the frontline professionals and volunteers. You are truly inspirational.”

This announcement comes several weeks after another major commitment to healthcare from the Pears Foundation. In February, it allocated £5.5 million in funding for a centre for children and young people’s mental health in partnership with South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience.

The Pears Foundation is an independent British family foundation that focuses on understanding complex issues, engaging people in achieving social progress and promoting wellbeing.