Conclusion

The figures in this report show the depth and breadth of Covid relief and recovery funding from UK grantmakers. Funders were able to quickly mobilise resources and coordinate their efforts to support organisations and ensure that the most vulnerable people across the country could be supported through a difficult time.

The report shows that that the majority of Covid relief and recovery grants were classed as small grants and were more likely to go to medium-sized registered charities.

There was significant overlap between funders: 38% of registered charities received a grant from more than one funder, with 17% receiving funding from three or more funders. But funders also supported parts of the sector they had not reached before, as 26% of recipients had not previously received funding.

There are some indications that efforts to address gaps in funding for communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic did make a difference, with a set of these organisations who are registered being more likely to have received funding.

The data paints a picture of the landscape of grants for Covid relief and recovery, but the picture is not complete. This report shows what is possible with the data when it is published, but not all grantmakers have published grants about their funding and there are opportunities to improve the quality of data that is published.

360Giving can help grantmakers to:

• Publish timely data about the grants they have made as open data, using a standard format (the 360Giving Data Standard).
• Make their data useful for analysis such as this by including organisation identifiers and publishing high-quality geographical data.
• Work with other similar funders to publish data collaboratively where collaboration has happened.
• Use and analyse the data that they and others publish, to ensure they make decisions backed by robust evidence.

If you'd like to find out more about the UK Covid relief and recovery grants data analysis, do get in touch with the 360Giving team, or book an Office Hour with us.

With thanks to 360Giving funders who have supported 360Giving and this work:

• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
• National Lottery Community Fund
• Indigo Trust
• Paul Hamlyn Foundation
• Tudor Trust
• Pears Foundation

And to the over 200 funders that share their data in the 360Giving Data Standard