Severn Trent has announced its Community Fund will support more local charities this winter by providing £500,000 of core costs funding.

The move is in response to research from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations which highlighted the worrying scale of many groups and charities facing extremely tough times – which they believe is no longer just a cost-of-living crisis, but a ‘Cost of Giving’ crisis.  

Last year Seven Trent’s Community Fund allocated £150,000 specifically to cover core costs for groups within the Severn Trent region, to help them get through a difficult winter made even more challenging by the cost-of-living crisis. 

Just 12 months on, charities and groups are sadly facing into another tough, potentially even tougher, few months, where many will struggle to cover the essential costs, they need simply to keep running. 

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations research shares that one in five charities say they will be forced to ‘disappear’ this winter if they are not given urgent support, leaving the people and communities they serve at risk. They also share that ‘A staggering 85% of charities predict that this winter will be as tough, or even tougher, than the last. And as many as 27% said they already believe they won’t be able to meet the increasing demand for their services.’

In immediate response to this, the Severn Trent Community Fund has committed that the remainder of this financial year’s funding will be allocated to vital core cost support, to help groups within its region and to help meet this urgent need for support within its communities.  

Non-profit organisations can apply to be considered for a grant of between £5,000 - £20,000 for one year to help them get through this challenging time. Organisations need to have been operating since at least 2018 and have an annual income of less than £250,000 averaged over the last 5 years.

Paul Evans, Community Communications lead at Severn Trent, said: “Charities are once again facing an incredibly tough time and now, more than ever, they need as much support as possible. There is a clear need to help organisations with core funding as we go into the winter months, a time when bills increase further, and charities can be hard hit during this time. 

“That is why we have allocated £500,000 to help them cover these core costs, to give them peace of mind and help them through a tough winter so that they can continue to work hard for the communities they are based in.”

Severn Trent Community Fund Core Funding will be open from Monday, November 13th until midnight on Sunday, December 10th, 2023.  

The Community Fund team will be hosting a Core Funding Workshop on Monday, November 20th between 9am and 10am.

It will be a chance to find out further information about core funding and more details about the session and how to book, can be found here. 

Grants from the Severn Trent Community Fund are available to non-profit organisations and local charities that run for the benefit of local residents, supporting those most vulnerable, and who need urgent financial help to keep their activities and services running. 

Opportunities for applications for new projects to be considered will re-start in March.    

To find out more about the Community Fund, and how to apply visit www.stwater.co.uk/corefunding