A NEW charity grant of more than £90,000 has been launched to help organisations hit by Covid-19.

Watford Council, and Watford and Three Rivers Trust are behind the Watford Charity Support Grant, a fund of £97,500 available to support charities affected by the pandemic.

It was launched at the Holywell Community Centre by trust boss Bob Jones and deputy mayor and councillor for the community, Aga Dychton.

The grant is available to charitable organisations of any size in Watford, and can award up to £5,000 per charity. It will help charities resume, develop or improve their operations, and recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is funded through the council’s additional restrictions grant allocation, made up of money provided to councils to support businesses across the country to recover from the economic effects of Covid-19.

The Watford Charity Support Grant follows on from the announcement of the Watford Business Growth Grant in May, which provides grant funding and enhanced business advisory support to small businesses impacted by the pandemic.

Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “I’m really pleased we’ve made this grant possible. I’m sure it will provide vital help to charities in Watford. Over the pandemic I think we’ve all seen the huge importance of the role charities play in our community, and I know many of these organisations have struggled without access to their traditional fundraising methods. This new grant will help charities find exciting new ways of working and will increase the impact of their expertise and compassion.”

The Watford Charity Support Grant is open to applications until Thursday 31 March 2022, or until all funds have been allocated.

Charities can apply to the grant via the W3RT website: https://w3rt.org/page/community_funds