Family Fund Business Services, company update
As 2020 draws to an end, our half-year figures show how hard we have worked with our customers this year to deliver valuable support to thousands more households in need. Together with our suppliers, we are proud to have made a difference throughout such a difficult year.
The Coronavirus crisis has resulted in a huge increase in grants made by our partners as they provided essential services to support those directly affected. Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK have found themselves in new or increased hardship due to the pandemic and the FFBS team have been working hard to enable our customers to help those who need it most.
Increase in grant awards
In just six months following the first lockdown, we supported 10,000 more households than we did in the entire year previously, delivery essential goods and services. And, thanks to the unique partnerships we have with our suppliers, we have been able to provide our clients with £138,000 in rebates – given them the funds to support an estimated 1,326 more households.
Since we launched in 2013, we have returned almost £1 million in rebates to customers, resulting in an additional 6,753 households being helped.
This also means we have generated £708,000 for our parent charity Family Fund this year. Like us, they have been coping with their highest ever number of applications for support from families on low incomes raising disabled or seriously ill children.
These figures put us firmly on track to achieve our goal of donating more than ever to Family Fund again this year. This is thanks to our valued partnerships and unique business model that delivers the right support efficiently to those that need it.
In the first six months of this year, we helped to deliver 30% more cash awards and almost 60% more food vouchers than we did throughout all of 2019/20. Such a vast increase in the need for such support is indicative of the way the pandemic has impacted people across the country. We’ve been supporting our customers to help those experiencing increased hardship and have seen the distressing impact that financial uncertainty has had on people who have lost earnings.
Coronavirus-specific schemes
We’ve supported customers to set up and manage Coronavirus-specific schemes quickly and efficiently, as well as assisting with the administration of free school meal vouchers and self-isolation payments. Due to our systems and processes, we can get a new scheme up and running for a customer within 3-5 working days.
Family Fund Business Services (FFBS) Managing Director Jill Wheeler says: “This has been an exceptionally busy year for FFBS and our partners who have seen an unprecedented need for increased support.
“Coronavirus has taught us to expect the unexpected and always be prepared. Investments in our technology over the past two years meant that the team were able to transition effortlessly to home working in March. This ensured that we could not only maintain our service levels but also the increase in need for our services, which rose by up to 600% in some cases, to support our customers and their beneficiaries though the pandemic.
Throughout the last seven months, the team has worked tirelessly to ensure those communities worst-affected by Coronavirus have been able to access the financial help they need, quickly and effectively. We have strengthened relationships with our suppliers and worked in partnership with all of our stakeholders to deliver the best possible service in the most difficult of times.
Most of all, the team have pulled together to support one another, in ways which I could not have imagined, and I am immensely proud of them all.”
Find out how we can help your organisation support beneficiaries during the pandemic by getting in touch at businessdevelopment@familyfundservices.co.uk.
