Emergency Fund

Emergency Fund

We are ready to help in a crisis. When The Royal Countryside Fund was established, our Patron, His Majesty King Charles III, identified a crucial role for us in responding to countryside crises. Since then, we have given out more than £250,000 in emergency funding, whether this is in response to an outbreak of animal disease or extreme weather.

During emergencies we are able to launch appeals and repurpose grants which raise valuable funds from the public and corporate donors. We know help is needed not only immediately but also in the longer term to help communities recover and increase their resilience.

In 2020 we supported 60 projects across the UK, providing emergency relief to vulnerable or isolated individuals in rural communities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Grants are awarded to not-for-profit, community-led organisations which can provide immediate relief to affected rural communities. Please note we are not able to award grants to individuals or private businesses.

We are not currently open for emergency funding applications.

The RCF adheres to a number of key principles when awarding emergency grants:

  1. Commitment to speed:

    the time applicants spend on applying and reporting is minimised and so is the turnaround time for decision-making.

  2. Light touch application and monitoring: 

    the RCF has streamlined the administrative process for its Eund, minimising the work for applicants under severe personal and/or professional stress.

  3. Flexible funding: 

    the RCF understands the need to be flexible in response to feedback from our partner organisations on the ground.

Covid-19 Response

An RCF Emergency Fund grant allowed Bretforton Community Shop to continue to deliver essential food and household goods to self-isolating members of the community, peaking at more than 100 deliveries every week.

“The grant we received from the RCF has been key to helping us serve our rural community. We have been able to deliver food and have maintained a series of Covid-19-related measures, so that everyone in Bretforton has been able to shop safely.”

David, Bretforton Community Shop