Emergency fund launched to help local community businesses

Independent trust Power to Change is making up to £12m in emergency support available to help struggling community businesses

Throughout the coronavirus crisis, locally rooted businesses have played an essential role in supporting their communities across the country, often serving as a lifeline for those most in need.

According to Power to Change, the independent trust that supports community businesses in England, over half (58%) of local community businesses have been forced to close and many fear that they won’t survive the COVID-19 crisis.

Whilst the majority of UK businesses are currently not operating, outgoing costs such as rent, stock and bills continue to rise – putting many businesses in jeopardy.

In a bid to offer local community businesses a lifeline, independent trust Power to Change is making up to £12m in emergency support available to help struggling community businesses.

The money is intended to ensure community businesses – which provide vital support services in local areas – can withstand the loss of income as a result of the lockdown.

The new emergency support is made up of two parts:

* £7 million in rescue funding for community businesses, offering grants up to £25,000 to contribute towards trading income losses incurred between April and June 2020.

This first pot of funding is available to current and previous Power to Change grantees, as well as to community businesses which are members of Power to Change’s strategic partners, Co-operatives UK, Locality and the Plunkett Foundation

* £5 million in recovery funding, to be made available later this year, based on learning from the first pot to help community businesses rebuild and recover strongly from the crisis.

The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated the vital role that community businesses play in reviving local assets, protecting the services that people rely on, and addressing local needs – this emergency support will help protect community businesses and the services that local communities heavily rely on. 

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