Stafford and District

The Community Foundation for Staffordshire has launched an appeal to raise funds in order to support communities across the county that have been affected by Covid-19.

Across Staffordshire, many people are being advised to isolate themselves from their communities, families and friends in order to limit the spread of Covid-19, and to reduce their risk of contracting it. This means that a large number of vulnerable people have now been isolated and do not have access to their support services that many cannot do without.

Round 1: 09 April 2020 to 16 April 2020   |   Round 2: 16 April 2020 to 30 April 2020

The Arts Council are making £160 million of emergency funding available for those organisations and individuals who will need it during this crisis, and they have also changed the funding requirements for individuals and organisations currently in receipt of our funding, to help alleviate pressure on them as best they can.

Closing date: Monday 11th May 2020

This is a fast track application process for small one-off grants. It could be particularly useful for funding small projects or to cover unexpected costs. The value of the grant awarded could be up to a maximum of £3,000.

In the light of the unprecedented challenges that now face small charities providing vital services to the most vulnerable members of our community, our small grants programme invite applications from UK registered charities which are currently supporting:

Bids are initially accepted until, and funding from this initial phase must be spent by 30 June 2020.

A huge, co-ordinated effort across community and voluntary groups across our county is making a huge difference to isolated and vulnerable people, and those in most need of help. Local people are also stepping up to put projects together make a difference.

The expectation is that organisations will only apply once to this fund for the immediate period, from 1 March through to 31 July, 2020.

Sport England announced up to £195 million of funding available to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

It has been the most testing, bizarre, emotional, challenging, tiring month, but I have also never been more proud to be part of our local voluntary and community sector.

In a matter of weeks, we have seen our members dramatically reorganise themselves to respond to the pandemic, undertaking new and challenging tasks, recruiting more volunteers, spending their own reserves, forging new relationships, supporting the vulnerable and marginalised, to stay at home, to protect the NHS, and Social Care, and ultimately to save lives.

Are you concerned about your cashflow?  Will you have the money to pay staff in your April payroll whilst you wait to claim for furlough?  

There are a number of things you can consider:

Communities Against Crimes of Hate (CACH) has been awarded charity status as a CIO.  They are a long standing organisation who support victims of hate crime in a variety of ways including acting as an advocate as well as being a listening ear.  CACH also educate and raise awareness of hate crime as well as promoting tolerance in schools, colleges, workplaces and the community.  

Staffordshire LEP News

A new web service has been launched by a Staffordshire tech-firm to support communities and businesses through the coronavirus restriction period and beyond.

Local Food Drops – developed by Stafford-based iWeb – is a web-based solution that enables people to find businesses which deliver food in their area and includes grocers, butchers, bakers, pet shops and more.