Skip to main content

Welcome to our new website. You may still see some pages from our old site as we move things over.

Covid-19 Charities Fund

Covid-19 Charities Fund (PDF, 0.9 MB)

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. To request an accessible format contact us.

Introduction

The COVID-19 Charities Fund in Northern Ireland was set up to support charities that were facing imminent closure due to financial difficulties. This report shares how the funding was administered and distributed to charities and shares key insights from this work.

Findings

The Fund supported 501 charities who found themselves in severe financial difficulties. This funding:

  • helped them to solve cash flow problems

  • gave them space to change their services or target new funding streams

  • saved jobs

  • avoided organisations closing

The report also concluded that:

  • Covid-19 uncovered the precarious financial health of many charities. Many had no reserves and they were not prepared to deal with the financial fallout from the pandemic

  • the programme provided financial support at a point in time but didn’t address the wider financial challenges facing charities

  • flexibility of funders was a lifeline, but it is important that funders don’t revert to old ways of working

  • multi-year funding is vital for Northern Ireland’s charity sector