Addition brings total available under the COVID-19 Stability Fund to €45 million
Joe O’Brien, T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Community Development and Charities, today (Friday 11th December 2020) announced the distribution of the additional €10 million funding allocated to the COVID-19 Stability Fund for Community and Voluntary Organisations, Charities and Social Enterprises.
An additional €10 million was provided for the COVID-19 Stability Fund, which was announced during Budget 2021, for distribution in 2020. This brought the total available under the Fund to €45 million.
The Covid-19 Stability Fund was established in May 2020 to provide immediate, short term cash flow to qualifying organisations which provide critical services to those most vulnerable in society.
The funding was intended for organisations in danger of imminent closure due to a reduction in funds-raised or traded income because of COVID-19 restrictions.
To date, just under €31 million has been allocated to 590 organisations. This funding is now supporting the delivery of many critical front line services.
When the Stability Fund was initially established, it was envisaged that restrictions would be in place for a limited period and grant levels allocated were based on this assumption.
It was subsequently necessary to reintroduce restrictions and in this context many organisations have been unable to undertake normal fundraising activities recently.
As a result, the majority of organisations that were approved for funding under the Stability Fund will now receive a top-up grant. This is intended to support them as they continue to deal with the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on their ability to trade and fundraise normally.
The Minister said:
“I am very happy to be able to provide some additional funding to organisations approved for funding under the COVID-19 Stability Fund. The previous funding is supporting a diverse range of organisations providing critical services to communities all over the country and I hope that this additional funding will provide them with the resources they need to continue this work. I would like to take this opportunity to thank organisations in the community and voluntary sector, charities and social enterprises for the support they are providing to the most vulnerable in our communities during this pandemic”.
A list of organisations receiving additional funding can be found here