The Covid-19 Equine Emergency Fund – established by Petplan Charitable Trust and the National Equine Welfare Council with the support of World Horse Welfare, to provide assistance to small charities during the pandemic – has announced the award of the first seven grants totalling £20,350.
The Fund’s committee stressed the need to provide immediate help to those organisations caring for equines whose cashflow had been most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The committee also recognised that there is often less financial pressure on organisations over the summer months and that the full financial impact of the pandemic is yet to be felt. This could also be magnified by the uncertainty surrounding how soon volunteer support and income from events will resume. Hence, there are two further scheduled rounds closing on Friday 24th July and Friday 16th October, with the possibility of extending a further funding round in December.
David Simpson of the Petplan Charitable Trust said, “We received a number of applications where charities were holding everything together now, but there was obviously great uncertainty as to how long their funds would last. It was good to be able to offer emergency support to those organisations that most need it now and to be in a position to provide further funding to eligible organisations who may need help in the coming months.”
Financial support for the fund, set up in May, has been given by World Horse Welfare, RSPCA, The Donkey Sanctuary, Redwings and the British Horse Society. The maximum grant will be £5,000, with the expectation that the average grant will be around £2,500-£3,000. Grants will be decided by a committee comprising representatives from NEWC, World Horse Welfare, RSPCA and The Donkey Sanctuary with PPCT administering the fund.
Applicants need not be NEWC members, but rescue and rehoming of equines should be the primary focus of the organisation. However, if more applications are received than funds available, priority will be given to NEWC members and those organisations that have not received emergency funding from other emergency funds (e.g. Support Adoption for Pets Emergency Fund).
Application link: https://
