The government’s £200m Coronavirus Community Support Fund has now been fully allocated.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has confirmed that 8,250 small and medium sized charities are to benefit from fund, which is aimed at supporting voluntary organisations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Among those to benefit are a FC United project to support vulnerable families in Manchester and Re-engage, a charity supporting older people at risk of loneliness.

The Fund has been distributed by the National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF) and is part of a £750 government support package for charities.

“Charities are there when we need them the most, and this emergency funding has kept their doors open during the biggest crisis for a generation,” said Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

“Our £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund has reached thousands of worthy causes in communities across the country, ensuring they can be there for millions of vulnerable people and families.

NLCF chief executive Dawn Austwick, added: “Communities and charities across the country have responded magnificently to the Covid crisis and those who have benefited from the CCSF funding that we have distributed encapsulate the generosity, spirit and expert knowledge that we have all seen in our local neighbourhoods.

“From the community cafes that have turned into food distribution hubs, to the counsellors and peer mentors who have moved their services online, to those offering advice and support to people struggling with debt or dealing with grief: they have all inspired and moved us in equal measure.”

Concern over delays

Since it was announced in May the Coronavirus Community Support Fund has been blighted by criticism around delays in distributing the money, which has been urgently needed by the sector to cope with income losses and maintain support for communities.

In July it emerged that only £8.5m of the funding had been distributed. Also during the summer, the Directory of Social Change had called for more transparency around the distribution of the funding.

By August only a quarter of the Coronavirus Community Support Fund had been allocated.

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