COVID-19 Information Grants
Protecting your community from COVID-19
Apply now!
To be eligible for a COVID-19 Information Grant, your organisation must:
- Work in Hackney and/or the City of London with Hackney and/or City of London residents
- Have a formal constitution or governing document and be constituted to be not-for-profit
- Have been operating for at least one financial year
- Have had a turnover of less than £1,000,000 in its last financial year or provide significant services to people most affected by COVID.
Grants
Grants for VCS organisations to give out accurate information to the local community about keeping safe during the pandemic. This includes informing people about how to get a test at home or at a testing centre, and what to do if you have a positive test.
Grants are prioritised for organisations working with communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19, or where there are barriers to understanding Public Health information.
Aim of the grant programme
The aim of the grant programme is to help keep local people safe, by making sure that everyone has access to accurate and up-to-date information. Grant holders will use their communication channels, outreach and ongoing engagement and service delivery work to inform people about how to get a test, and what to do if it is positive.
They will give information about contact tracing, and what options are available. They will also help to protect community members from scams by identifying what official contact looks like.
Training
Alongside the grant programme is a training scheme run by Volunteer Centre Hackney to support staff and volunteers to become community experts. > Read more
The Grant Programme


Grants will be offered at 2 levels – Messenger Grants of up to £10k and Contact Point Grants of up to £20k, with Contact Point Grants asking organisations to act as a contact point within their community, as well as carrying out the information giving and feeding back.
Information for applicants
- Organisations will be able to select from a menu of activities within each grant programme
- They will need to demonstrate that they have a track record of reach into the community they propose to work with
- Participation in the VCH training programme and in Public Health feedback forums would be expected to be part of the programme
- Grants will be for 12 months
Support
One-to-one support – sessions
Individual support sessions are available. Register here
One-to-one support – comment on drafts
For comments and feedback on your individual grant application, please contact advice@hcvs.org.uk. You must allow 5 working days for the draft to get back to you.
Application form and guidance
Certain organisations have drawn our attention to difficulties using the PDF form. If you need to use a MS Word version, please download it here:
Deadline
The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 26th October. Late applications will not be considered. Please send your completed application form in PDF format via email to info@hackneygiving.org.uk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact
Please direct any questions to Liz Hughes: liz@hcvs.org.uk
Hackney Giving is led by Hackney CVS, registered charity no 1069736. We warmly thank our supporters.