Community Match Challenge

“Using our in-depth regional knowledge and our national connections, we targeted the funding towards some of the most urgent issues during the pandemic. Our small team rose to the challenge, allocating £20 million of funding in just 59 days, whilst maintaining our robust standards and due diligence.”

Jane Harris

Director of Grants, Steve Morgan Foundation

In 2020 the Steve Morgan Foundation was awarded £10 million in match funding from the Department for Communities, Media and Sport under the Community Match Challenge initiative, which was part of the government’s £750 million package to tackle the impact of Covid-19.

A total of £20 million was distributed by the Foundation as part of this programme, targeting front-line organisations at the forefront of essential service delivery to the most severely impacted communities.

In keeping with the terms of the funding, the DCMS £10 million portion was distributed and spent within the first six months, and the Foundation’s £10 million contribution was awarded over a period of up to two years to sustain charities in recovery from the pandemic.

A total of 130 organisations were supported, benefitting 784,124 of the most vulnerable and hardest hit by Covid-19, with 47.5% of funds allocated in Merseyside, 11.1% in Cheshire, and 41.4% to national organisations.