Phase 3 of Two Riding’s Coronavirus Community Fund Launched 3 August 2020

Trustees & Two Ridings Supporters visiting Sidewalk Youth Project in Scarborough in Feb 2020

Phase 3 of our Coronavirus Community Fund launches Monday 3^rd August

Current Coronavirus Community Fund funds raised = £2.48m, £1.2m awarded in 282 grants with 484 applications received  (work commenced 18^th March 2020)

We launch phase 3 of our Coronavirus Community Fund (CCF) on Monday 3 August 2020 and this phase is all about investing our funds into the strength and vitality of key local organisations . The aim is that our funds helps sustain them now and most importantly to help them be around in the medium to long term for their beneficiaries. Attached are the revised guidelines. We are focussing our Coronavirus Community Fund (CCF) on five priority themes which is based on our analysis of previous CCF grants, needs in the region and gaps needing to be addressed by our funds:

• Good health & wellbeing – Under this goal we will prioritise projects which seek to improve mental health, reduce health inequalities and reduce isolation amongst those most affected.
• Good jobs & economic growth – with a particular focus on young people 16-25 living in areas of significant disadvantage, high unemployment and low educational attainment and particularly in areas which have been impacted most by the crisis for example those which are traditionally reliant on tourism
• Zero hunger – In the immediate response phase, we have provided a large amount of funding to support the provision of food. In this phase we are keen to support organisations that can help local communities to build food security and maximize their ability to increase self sufficiency
• No poverty – Under this goal we will prioritise groups and projects which provide the services which can help to prevent people from sliding into poverty or help to provide a route out
• Reduced inequalities – our priorities under this goal will be around providing infrastructure support, digital inclusion, volunteer training, community transport and organizational development for groups that represent the most marginalised people in our communities and in particular those that have become more marginalised and isolated as a result of the lockdown.

The Coronavirus Community Fund panel met last week and funded the core costs of a number of key local organisations like:

• Sidewalk in Scarborough to provide vital outreach work for vulnerable children & young people
• KingsTrust Gateway Community Care Hub in Withernsea provides clothes, toiletries, hygiene products, toys, white goods and furniture to members of the community who are in financial hardship and struggling to cope. They estimate 3500 beneficiaries, around 50% of the population and even though they know the area well they have been struck by the sheer numbers of people needing help. To provide something for the children to look forward to each week they are also making educational packs and craft packs. They do ask for a small contribution from families so that they don’t feel embarrassed to accept charity.
• Brunswick Organic Garden in York- working with people with learning difficulties – this is a new group for us. In normal times they would rely on  income from Personal independence Payments from their users.
• Tiger Trust in Hull – a partnership with St Michaels Youth Project & partners like the police to respond to needs that have become far more pressing as a result of the Covid crisis, young people that have been out of school and allowed to ‘drift’ are at much greater risk of exploitation by criminal gangs. Both partner organisations have had to furlough staff and this work will allow them to bring some staff members back into do this.

The pie chart below shows where the money to date has been focussed on & the other shows where it has been distributed

Two Riding’s Coronavirus Community Fund grants data at 31 July 2020