Barnet Council is pledging £125,000 of funding to aid the work of the borough’s voluntary and community groups as they support the people most affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
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The council is contributing £50,000 into the Barnet Community Response Fund and is also committing up to £25,000 to match pound-for-pound public donations. Barnet Community Response Fund has been set up by Barnet Together to help food banks, small charities and local organisations working with communities most at risk and affected by the crisis.
In addition, the council has worked with the trustees of the Edward Harvist Trust to make available a further £50,000 of their allocation to Barnet as a COVID-19 Sustainability Fund. This is aimed at supporting voluntary and community organisations facing threats to their survival from loss of income as a result of COVID-19.
Councillor Dan Thomas, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “We’re injecting much-needed money into the Barnet Community Response Fund as part of our response to help our residents manage with their new circumstances and get back on their feet. Separately, we’re offering £50,000-worth of funding to provide an essential lifeline for organisations that have lost their regular sources of funding to ensure they can continue their work on the frontline. Working in partnership together, we will get through this.”
On behalf of Barnet Together - Janet Mathewson, CEO of Young Barnet Foundation said: “This is really great news for the sector, this is a tough time for everyone, but for some more than most. Together, we are all working hard to ensure that we do everything we can to support the most vulnerable residents of Barnet.”
Voluntary and community organisations can apply for grants via the Young Barnet Foundation website.
Barnet Together is a partnership between Inclusion Barnet, Volunteering Barnet and the Young Barnet Foundation.
The Edward Harvist Trust is a charity which provides “relief and support for needy inhabitants of London boroughs of Barnet, Brent, Camden, Harrow and the City of Westminster”.