HELP may be at hand for York voluntary organisations facing tough financial problems because of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown.

York CVS, a social action organisation which supports and champions York’s voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, has issued details of fresh assistance which they might be eligible to receive.

Chief executive Alison Semmence says that at 11am today, it is organising a ‘meet the funders’ online meeting after receiving a lot of feedback from organisations that funding and finances are increasingly becoming an issue.

It will involve representatives from Two Ridings Community Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund, who will talk about the funding available from them.

The CVS says the Two Ridings Community Foundation has launched a second grant in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Phase 2 of their grant making strategy focuses on the needs of key community organisations,”it says. “In this phase they will be offering larger grants of up to £10k and will also welcome larger partnership bids from groups that are seeking to come together to provide a strategic solution to a particular issue for example, food provision in a particular geographical area or support for people affected by homelessness.”They will also prioritise groups working with the most marginalised.

It says the Aviva Community Fund has also broadened its criteria to include applications for projects that ‘enable causes to adapt or continue their services by covering core running costs, so they can help their beneficiaries and communities during this time of need.’