The National Emergencies Trust (NET) coronavirus appeal has raised nearly £100m since it launched a year ago.
NET’s appeal was launched on 18 March 2020 and has raised more than £97m for people affected by the pandemic.
So far, £94m of this has funded more than 13,000 charitable projects across the four nations.
A total of £76.5m in funding has been distributed through UK Community Foundations and its network of 47 community foundations across the UK to enable local charities and groups to respond to urgent needs created by the pandemic.
Nearly one third of this funding has ensured food and vital essentials reach those who need them, 23% has helped to support people's mental health and 10% has enabled local charities to offer services to reduce social isolation.
A further £16.6m of the £97m raised has been distributed through ten national charity partners, in an aim to ensure that funds reach groups with particular unmet needs.
These include Age UK, Barnardo's, Comic Relief, Cruse Bereavement Care, DPO Covid-19 Coalition led by Disability Action NI, Heads Together, the LGBT+ Consortium, Refuge, Shelter and The Refugee Council.
Mhairi Sharp, chief executive of the National Emergencies Trust, said: “We didn't expect that our first emergency appeal would be for a global pandemic, but this past year has proven not only that our model works, but how quickly the nation comes together in times of great need.
“The speed and scale of donors' generosity, meant charities across the UK started to receive funding from the appeal within a week, enabling them to offer vital support and services just as the first national lockdown started. They've worked tirelessly to help people ever since.”
NET was set up in November 2019, just four months before it activated its Coronavirus Appeal, to provide the UK with one trusted place to give during domestic disasters. It collaborates with charities and other bodies across the UK to ensure that emergency funding reaches those in need.
Richard Dannatt, chair of the National Emergencies Trust, said: “In an incredibly challenging year, the public, UK businesses, and charitable trusts and foundations have come together to raise incredible sums of money for those in need. The Coronavirus Appeal has already helped to fund more than 13,000 projects that have made a real difference to people's lives."
He continued: “The creativity and tenacity that UK charities have shown has also been a privilege to witness. They've delivered food to the doorsteps of those shielding, transferred vital support services online and conceived all manner of ways to bring communities together, from Zoom Zumba to virtual choirs. When the world stopped, they started.”
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