Emergency Funding Messaging

In an emergency you don’t throw all your strategic learning out of the window. It can be strategic to act exceptionally fast while buying time for a longer term approach. With COVID19 we realised very quickly that we needed to make grants and build capacity before the nation got up the viral curve. Every day counted. Our strategic framing, based on our learning at TPW was that the impact would be felt by people in their homes across the entire country incredibly quickly. But we could not move fast enough to identify local grant recipients and we lived in a prosperous area – the suffering would be higher in poorer areas. We granted to a national emergency fund set up to distribute cash to local community foundations as well as our own local foundation. And made a grant to a national organisation that funds food banks across the UK.  The grants more than doubled our annual expenditure. This short term, first step will be followed up with other support over the medium and long term as more information becomes available about need. The strategic method learned with TPW gave us the foundation to act swiftly and confidently. We want to see other philanthropists copy us.

Fran Perrin, Indigo’s Founder and Chair of Trustees and her husband, William Perrin also a Trustee have issued the following statement:

“We are currently in a national emergency to which charities and wealthy individuals need to immediately respond, changing as necessary their pre-existing funding priorities, amounts and processes. We are, therefore, making two major emergency grants to alleviate suffering during the COVID19 crisis. £1 million pounds to the Trussell Trust to support running foodbanks nationwide. Disruptions to supply chains, the impact of COVID19 on volunteers and anticipated rising demand for their services as a result of economic hardship requires, we believe, a major and quick response. £1 million pounds to the National Emergency Trust to support their Coronavirus Appeal. The National Emergencies Trust was set up to deal with such emergencies as we are now facing and to make certain that in such circumstances funds are directed to the areas most in need across the country. This, we think, they are well placed to do.

An urgent priority is to support the relief of suffering at a national level and in local communities. Our strategic approach is informed by our work with New Philanthropy Capital and The Philanthropy Workshop. Donors should look to their local community, other less fortunate communities and the national interest.  We can see early leaders already doing this and today Indigo Trust is announcing £2.5million of strategic emergency grants to alleviate suffering during the COVID19 crisis. Funders can make the best use of limited resources by publishing their grants as open data to the 360giving standard tagged with ‘COVID19’.”

Indigo Trust is taking immediate action to more than double its annual expenditure to alleviate suffering from the COVID19 crisis. Indigo followed a rapid, yet strategic process: suffering arising from COVID19 will happen across the country, it needs to be tackled on the ground in communities and at a national level. Any grantees need to be able to absorb and disburse quickly large sums of money.

To that end, and thanks to an additional donation of £2,750,000 from Fran Perrin (founder) and William Perrin (Trustee), the Indigo Trust will be making grants over the course of the next few days that represent 250% of the value of our normal annual giving.  This is the first step in a three-stage process of initial relief, ongoing support, and recovery.

Initial Relief
We are making three grants, totaling £2,500,000, to help alleviate immediate need at both a local and national level:

• £1,000,000 to the Trussell Trust to support running foodbanks nationwide. Disruptions to supply chains, the impact of Covid-19 on volunteers and an anticipated rise in demand for their services as a result of economic hardship make these very difficult times for foodbanks up and down the country.
• £1,000,000 to National Emergencies Trust to support their Coronavirus Appeal. The trust will disburse money through community foundations across the UK.
• £500,000 to the Oxfordshire Community Foundation to re-grant to organisations most in need in the local area.

As with all of our grants details of these payments will be published via 360 Giving.

Ongoing Support
As the crisis continues, we expect to make significant, further, grants to meet the needs that arise.

Recovery 
Once the crisis has passed, there will be a lengthy period of recovery and rebuilding. The Indigo Trust anticipates significantly increasing our normal annual giving over a 12-18 month period to help civil society rebuild and grow.

To read Lord Sainsbury’s statement on his donations please visit the Gatsby Foundation’s website.

Press enquiries should be directed to:
Will Hanford – Communications Manager, New Philanthropy Capital (NPC)
Will.hanford@thinkNPC.org | 07975 750 448