YMCA Brunel Group has always embraced the challenge of earning our own money so we aren’t completely reliant on grants, donations and contracts with local authorities.
Over the years we have developed a range of social enterprises which help to fund our work supporting young people to belong, contribute and thrive. In normal circumstances this has made us financially resilient – able to stand on our own two feet. However when the UK went into lockdown caused by the global Coronavirus pandemic, we were forced to close almost all of our social enterprises. A completely unprecedented moment. It hit our income hard and threatened some of our core charitable work.
Today we are delighted to announce a £100,000 grant from The National Lottery Community Fund and HM Government to YMCA Brunel Group as part of the Coronavirus Community Support Fund, which will help us to continue our work supporting young people and communities in Bath, the Mendips, South Somerset, Bristol and Wiltshire. The fund was announced for “activities supporting people and communities affected by COVID-19. We can’t fund everyone. We will prioritise:
- organisations supporting people who are at high risk from COVID-19
- organisations supporting communities most likely to face increased demand and challenges as a direct result of COVID-19
- organisations which connect communities and support communities to work together to respond to COVID-19. ”
We are very grateful for this vital support – and see it as recognition of the important work our dedicated and skilled teams have continued to do in these extraordinary times.
