Brighton based financial services company and Council member, OneFamily, is giving grants of up to £2,500 to community projects and £250 to individuals who have been affected by the coronavirus crisis.

The OneFamily Foundation has given £3.5 million to its customers and their communities since 2015.  However, many people may be unaware that they are actually customers of the Friendly Society and are therefore eligible to apply.

As one of the UK’s largest Child Trust Fund providers, OneFamily holds around 25% of all accounts.  Therefore, the parents of Child Trust Fund account holders can apply for one of the new Hardship Grants or nominate a local group to receive a Community Grant.

Customers who hold other investments, mortgages or insurance with OneFamily can also apply.

Teddy Nyahasha, OneFamily’s CEO said, “We’re proud to be a very different kind of financial organisation.  Being a Friendly Society means that we’re owned by and run for our members, rather than shareholders.  This means we can focus on what’s important to our customers, such as supporting community projects, rather than paying dividends.

“A lot of people are suffering at the moment and we want to do what we can to support them and to also help our customers to give back to the local community organisations that are really making a difference to their lives.

“So, we’ve set-up a new Hardship Grant to help our customers who need extra support to keep afloat. This might be for rent, bills or food shopping or it could be for home schooling equipment or to enable the vulnerable to keep in touch with their friends and family. We will run these alongside our existing Personal Grants which are available all year round for our customers.

“Additionally, we’re launching our next round of Community Grants over the course of the next week, which we would like to be used to support those important community groups who are helping the most in need.  So, we hope that customers will apply on behalf of food banks, groups who are tackling isolation or those getting essential supplies to people.

“We’re a Brighton-based business so we’re particularly keen to help our local community.  We also want to find ways to support our heroes in the front-line services, who are quietly getting on with their daily jobs which are essential in keeping the country going.

“The effect of the pandemic has been devastating.  So, as an ethical organisation, we think it’s our moral obligation to do what we can to help.”

For further information and to apply for either a OneFamily Foundation Hardship Grant, a Personal Grant, Young Person’s Education Grant or a Community Grant please visit www.onefamily.com/your-foundation