Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales has awarded £450,000 in grants to 15 local and regional infrastructure charities who are continuing to coordinate, advocate for and support small charities working on the frontline of this health crisis.

Throughout the crisis, infrastructure charities have been the backbone of small and local charities. They have helped to streamline and coordinate local services, fostering partnerships between charities and local councils, the NHS and other statutory bodies, mobilising volunteers and advocating for small and local charities. Despite this, many of these infrastructure charities are struggling to attract funding whilst the pandemic has hit their own income streams hard. This in turn is affecting the whole charity ecosystem and ability for small and local charities to effectively deliver services.

The Foundation has awarded core cost grants of £30,000 to these charities as part of its ongoing response to Covid-19. Alongside this, the Foundation is providing opportunities for grant holders to learn from each other and to access additional organisational development support. The unrestricted funding and dedicated development support will provide the breathing space infrastructure charities need to be able to identify and address key organisational challenges they will face over the next 12 months as they recover from the crisis.

Paul Streets, Chief Executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, said: ‘Infrastructure charities have played a vital role to ensure that the response to the pandemic has been effective and locally rooted. These locally embedded organisations know the complex challenges facing their communities and are helping small charities to adapt to the challenges they’ve faced over the last ten months.

‘Crucially, these organisations are also helping to raise the importance of small charities that provide local services.’

For a full list of the charities funded through the infrastructure stream, click here.