The National Lottery Community Fund also announced payments would be made faster.

All National Lottery Community Fund grants for the next six months will go towards tackling the impacts of coronavirus, it has been announced.

The fund said grants of up to £300 million would be devoted to addressing the ongoing crisis over the next half-year.

Additionally, the process of paying out grants will be accelerated to ensure organisations can access much-needed cash as quickly as possible.

The faster payouts will apply to charities and other organisations supporting their communities during the crisis or those facing severe cashflow issues because of the outbreak.

The fund stressed that it would continue to uphold its existing commitments to grant holders throughout the coming months.

CEO Dawn Austwick said in a statement: “We are doing this because we know it is critical right now to work harder as a funder to get cash out of the door and hope that by acting quickly we can help organisations at the fore-front of the current crisis, when support is needed most.

“Should we get through this initial tranche of support with some funding left or circumstances change, we will move to set new priorities. We know that this means some groups will not be able to access our funding over the coming months and we will endeavour to return to our broader support as soon as we can.

“Things are moving at pace and we will keep our approach under constant review. We are also going to continue our exploration of how this crisis is changing how we live as communities and how civil society itself is changed.”

Do you need help due to Covid-19? Click here to see what assistance is available.