A further £3m has now been released from the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund. The next round of payments are about to be made to some of the victims and survivors of the Manchester Arena attack, bringing the total available for distribution to £4m.
The trustees of the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund met on Tuesday night to release the next round of early payments, ensuring that families and survivors benefit from the phenomenal outpouring of public support.
More than £11.2m has already been raised through the appeal, which has been led by Manchester City Council and the Manchester Evening News, in partnership with the British Red Cross, which is collecting the donations. The MEN's We Stand Together campaign raised almost £2m of this total.
Early payments totalling £1m were released at the beginning of June. The next round of initial gifts will see bereaved families and those who were in hospital for more than seven days receive a payment of £50,000. The early funds will be released as a gift payments, meaning that there will be no conditions on how the recipients spend the money to support them and their loved ones through the immediate aftermath of the atrocity.
Trustees are also looking into ways to ensure that the remainder of the money goes to those who need it and will continue to meet fortnightly to monitor progress. Councillor Sue Murphy, chair of the new charity, said: “We’ve been so moved by the public support we’ve had for the fund since it launched. To know that the world is thinking about our city and the victims has touched us all.
“Those who have been affected by this incident may need longer term support. We’re releasing early payments to go some way to alleviating any financial suffering in the short term and we’re working on plans to distribute the remaining funds.
“We remain grateful to everyone who has shown solidarity with the city - thank you.”
Police family liaison officers and victim support are facilitating the application process.
