Covid recovery – John Lyon's Charity
Derren Hayes
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
While the immediate impact of Covid-19 on charities' finances has been all too clear, with Pro Bono Economics predicting the pandemic would cost charities £6.4bn in lost income in 2020, the long-term effects on the sector are still largely unknown.
The vaccine programme may offer a chance to open up much of society and the economy again, but there is uncertainty over how higher unemployment, stretched local government budgets and social distancing restrictions will impact on charities' ability to generate income. In recognition of what looks set to be a challenging period, grant-giver John Lyon's Charity (JLC) has launched a £22m fund from its endowment to support the children and young people's sector over the next six years.
What's the focus of the fund?
Last year, JLC provided £12m of support to children's charities in nine west London boroughs it operates in through its general grants programme and an extra £1m in emergency grants to tackle Covid pressures. It has developed this new fund to deliver its strategic plan to “protect the children and young people's sector”, with the core focus being on “home, school and community” – what JLC calls the “main points of reference in any child's life”.
Most young people spend their time either at school, at home or in the community (such as at a youth club), and the charity's ethos is to work collaboratively across these three environments and support organisations, which work in these areas.
The additional £22m is to tackle the impact of Covid-19 to ensure that organisations survive a post-Covid world. The charity says each element of the funding triangle is designed to ensure a holistic approach to supporting children and young people.
How will it do this?
Over the next 12 months, JLC will start to invest the additional £22m into projects and charities benefiting children and young people in west London. It will specifically look to support organisations by initiating collaborations, replicating successful initiatives and rehabilitating organisations, using the funding as a lifeline for organisations at risk of permanent closure.
One of the first areas the charity will address is the dramatic fall in the offer of creative opportunities in schools by launching a new Cultural Capital Fund.
Why Cultural Capital?
The charity points out that time for arts subjects in schools have been “squeezed out” to focus on more “academic” core subjects, and says the fund is designed to bring arts organisations and schools together to ensure there is a varied and accessible offer available to all children, regardless of their background.
“We will invite applications from both schools and arts institutions in London for projects that utilise the skills of the most experienced and high-quality practitioners, many of whom have been unable to work during the pandemic,” the charity states.
How to apply?
The charity will be looking to provide up to £35,000 to 10 arts organisations and 10 schools in the first round of funding. Applications are open now and the closing date is 11 June. Applicants will hear by July if their bid has been successful, and projects will begin from September. There will be three rounds of funding each year, in March, July and November.
JLC says the fund is about creating opportunities for young people to engage with arts that have been curtailed by Covid-19 restrictions, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. It is open to arts and cultural institutions in London with registered charity status; and state schools or nurseries based in the areas the charity operates in. However, privately run nurseries are not eligible.
What impact will it have?
The charity predicts the additional funding on top of its annual grant giving will help many vulnerable children and young people it supports.
Lynne Guyton, JLC chief executive, says: “While we have been part of the collaborative emergency response co-ordinated by London funders since last March, we believe we now need to act strategically and definitively for the sector for the long-term. Our aim is to fund not just for the recovery but for the sustainability of the sector. We strongly believe that we need to take positive action now to safeguard our previous investment in the sector for future generations. Now is the proverbial rainy day.”
The charity is urging other UK funders to follow this strategic approach to ensure the survival of the children and young people's voluntary sector.
- More from: www.jlc.london
Funding roundup
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The Youth Endowment Fund, #iwill Fund and Co-op have launched a £5.1m partnership to give young people the chance to make their communities safer, fairer places to live. The partnership will invest in peer research, recruiting young people with experience of violence to design and conduct research projects.
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GamesAid has donated £10,000 to the charity Lifelites, which donates and maintains assistive technology to give life-limited and disabled children using children's hospice services a chance to play, be creative, communicate and control something for themselves. This funding will help increase their donations of assistive gaming technology to disabled children in hospices.
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What Works for Children's SocialCare has awarded three projects a total of more than £1m to roll out programmes and evaluate their impact. Empowering parents and professionals using video interaction guidance (VIG) delivered by Babies1st will train and supervise 21 social workers in four local authorities to deliver VIG; Manchester City Council will deliver the Thriving Babies: Confident Parents programme; while the Refugee Council will oversee the delivery of its My View programme to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
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Kibble has received a £10,000 donation from Covid-19 testing company Cignpost Diagnostics to fund fast and reliable regular PCR testing for staff that will allow the charity to continue to operate safely. Cignpost has already provided routine testing for the charity free of charge. Kibble provides a range of services for at-risk young people who may have experienced trauma or adversity.