Covid-19: The story told by 72 emergency funding applications

A Foundation gave us access to 72 funding applications made to their Covid-19 response fund in May 2020. This data provided rich insight into the challenges faced by the voluntary sector as organisations navigated their way through crisis and into recovery and renewal. The application data offers a powerful snapshot of the reality faced by charities during the Covid-19 crisis.

Six key themes in particular stood out:

1. Charities are seeing a significant increase in demand for services
2. Pressure on finances comes from lots of different directions
3. The funding crisis is both long and short term
4. Being organisationally robust has not protected these organisations
5. The role of CEOs/Directors is critical but vulnerable
6. This is a story of extraordinary resilience and adaptation

Read more about the challenges VCSE leaders face during Covid-19.