Welcome to this special e-bulletin, which is full of updates about what Consortium is doing to support our Members in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Support for the Voluntary and Community Sector
The Chancellor announced yesterday a £750 Million package of support for charities.
- £360m of this will be allocated by Government Departments to charities providing key services and supporting vulnerable people during the COVID-19 crisis £60m will be allocated through the Barnett formula to those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- £370m of the package will be distributed by other grant-making bodies for small and medium-sized charities providing services such as; delivering food, essential medicines and providing financial advice.
- A minimum of £20m as match funding for ‘The Big Night In’.
NCVO estimates that charities stand to lose around £4bn in 12 weeks as a result of the crisis, so we know that not every charity is going to get through this unscathed. Consortium is here for Members that are experiencing issues, please get in touch to see if there is anything we can do to support you at this time.
COVID-19 Emergency Funds across the UK:
- UK Wide
- Northern Ireland
- Scotland
- Wales
- Regional and Local – Search for your regions Community Foundation
- Wave 2 of London Community Response launched today, full details can be found here
- Crisis response – grants of up to £10,000 to enable your charity to meet the immediate needs of communities.
- Delivering differently – grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 to enable you to change the way you deliver work.
A Message from Consortium’s CEO, Paul Roberts
Consortium hopes that the announcement from the Chancellor on a package of support is just the start of a commitment to ensure that the voluntary sector can deliver its vital services. Consortium will continue working with others across the voluntary sector to ensure no voices are unheard and that no communities are forgotten in all this.
We know you are all working incredibly hard to keep your services running and ensure LGBT+ people stay safe, keeping the pressure off frontline NHS and social care services and we continue to ensure that this is being recognised by key stakeholders including funders, government and other public bodies.
Consortium has written on behalf of the sector to Liz Truss, Minister for Women and Equalities, seeking support and collaboration for LGBT+ services right across the UK. We are about to follow-up on this given the Chancellor’s announcement, to ensure the GEO will be playing its part in the Government’s financial response for the voluntary sector. We will also be reaching out to partners across the UK to collect additional data on the impact COVID-19 is having in parts of the UK and what response is being given.
Consortium is working tirelessly to keep LGBT+ voices on the agenda and to highlight the vital support our Members are providing to vulnerable, isolated and marginalised members of our communities. Please continue to share your data with us, let us know how you are responding and what more we can be doing to support you during this challenging time.
Stay strong and thank you for everything you are doing.
LGBT+ Sector and COVID-19 Research
Consortium has published it’s LGBT+ Sector COVID-19 Insight Report here, which outlines the immediate impact that the pandemic and subsequent Government lockdown is having on the work of our Members.
We know there is vital research being carried out by Members at the moment and thought it would be really useful to us to compile a list of what everyone is doing.
If your organisation is carrying out research on how LGBT+ people and communities are being affected by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown, please tell us about it here
- LGBT Foundation is conducting a survey to understand more about how LGBT+ people are being affected by COVID-19. Access the survey here
- GALOP is conducting a survey to understand the needs of LGBT+ victims of hate crime. Access the survey here
Webinars and Online Learning
The following Webinars can be booked through your Members Dashboard
- An Introduction to Social Media – 12:30 on Wednesday 15th April
- Finance – Good Practice – 12:30 on Monday 20th April
- Managing Simple Projects – 12:30 on Thursday 23rd April
- Diversity Series: Trans Inclusion – 12:30 on Monday 27th April
- Using Evidence in Funding Bids – 12:30 on Wednesday 29th April
Consortium also has a range of toolkits on offer, each toolkit comes with a range of webinars and templates.
- Developing a Volunteer Programme
- Recruiting, Inducting and Managing Trustees
- Developing a Fundraising Plan
- Writing Funding Bids
- Building Influence
- Safeguarding
- Youth Inclusion in Pride
You can access our toolkits along with a range of resources, guides, reports and research through your Members Dashboard
Further Support
- Contact one of our Engagement Officers by email or phone 020 7064 6500
- If you need to find other online or phone-based support, check out Consortium’s 360+ Members, who are listed here
