Marking five years supporting UK disaster survivors

This month the National Emergencies Trust marks its fifth anniversary. It’s a moment to reflect on the incredible network of people and organisations who have supported our work to improve the lives of UK disaster survivors.

Our founding friends

We launched as a charity in November 2019, following a recommendation by the Charity Commission for England & Wales. Drawing on learnings from the 2017 Grenfell Tower Fire tragedy, as well as the series of terror attacks in Manchester and London that year, the Commission recommended a new charity be established to better respond to UK emergencies.

In the year following that recommendation, and leading up to our launch, hundreds of emergency survivors, responders and policy-shapers would feed into the Survivor Consultation that still guides our work between emergencies today.

Our Royal Patron

We were delighted that HRH Prince William, The Prince of Wales attended our launch event in November 2019 to mark the occasion. Just four months later, when we activated our first disaster appeal in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, His Royal Highness would become the National Emergencies Trust’s Royal Patron and has since provided incredible support to our work, from meeting volunteers during the pandemic, to championing the Bee The Difference project with young survivors of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack.

The Coronavirus Appeal community

We activated the Coronavirus Appeal on 18 March 2020, which went on to raise £100 million for those affected by the pandemic across the UK. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the nation, including our own amazing Patrons, the Appeal touched the lives of 13 million people right across the UK.

None of this would have been possible without a growing community of grassroots and national charities, delivering vital front-line support. Through UKCF and its network of 47 Community Foundations, more than 15,000 projects made a difference to people’s lives. Meanwhile, ten national charity partners helped to tackle unmet meets that couldn’t be addressed at a local level.

In its evaluation of the Appeal, Nottingham Trend University called this the Network of Giving – a brilliant term to describe how national and local charities were able to come together, and complement one another, at speed.

Partnering with policymakers

Recommendations from our original Survivor Consultation have helped us to suggest new policies to Government that could make a big difference to people’s lives during disasters. We’ve partnered with the Department of Work & Pensions and Ministry of Justice, for instance, to protect the existing state support of those who accept donations from the Trust in future disasters.

We are proud to be a founding member of the Government’s UK Resilience Forum (opens in a new tab) where we offer survivor perspectives. Meanwhile, conversations are underway about how the learnings from the Bee The Difference report might be applied to strengthen the support available to young disaster survivors – in schools and beyond.

Powered by our Patrons

None of our work would be possible with the generosity of our Corporate Patrons to whom we owe a huge thanks. Financial support from Arnold Clark, Christopher Laing Foundation, Clarion Housing Group, Co-op, IKEA, M&G plc, NatWest Group and Welcome Break means we can work year-round to improve the lives of disaster survivors, while we prepare for the next emergency. Alongside this, their strategic support for our survivor-led projects helps us to go faster and further to create vital change before we’re needed next.

Supported by, and working for, disaster survivors

Regular meetings with members of our Survivors Advisory Forum help us to learn from the challenges disaster survivors have faced in the past – and transform these into future change. We’re incredibly grateful to benefit from their lived experience. Our upcoming project, Stories After the Storms, aims to identify how to provide the best support possible to people affected by flooding.

Making more friends before we need them

At five years old, we haven’t finished making friends before we need them. Far from it! We are delighted to continue to welcome new National Charitable Partners, Appeal Partners, Patrons, Ambassadors and Advisors, including members of our Survivors Advisory Forum and our Equity Scrutiny Group.

So, if you’d like a chance to support or get involved in our work, please do get in touch. We would love to hear from you. Together we can work towards our founding vision: a world where those affected by national emergencies receive the best possible care.

To find out more about our work, and how you might be able to get involved, download our latest Annual Report (PDF, 7.5MB) (opens in a new tab).