RCN Foundation hosts reception to celebrate the impact of their subsidiary charity, CHSA
Covid-19 Healthcare Support Appeal (CHSA), was a subsidiary charity of the RCN Foundation, created in 2020 thanks to a £5 million donation from TikTok.
Tiktok generously donated the money to support the RCN Foundation in providing grants to healthcare workers most affected by COVID-19, directly supporting over 10,800 people.
Grants awarded covered three areas:
- Emergency aid and hardship
- Psychological support
- Recovery and resilience.
Report and findings
CHSA provided grants totalling £4,867,447 to 30 organizations in the health and social care sectors. As the funds have been spent out and CHSA fulfilled its purposes, the charity has been closed. An independent report was commissioned to review the impact of CHSA.
The Care Workers Charity was one of the organisations funded by CHSA. A Healthcare Support Worker who received support said: “For the two weeks that I had to isolate, I was only entitled to Statutory Sick Pay of £95 a week, which barely covered rent, never mind anything else. With your help, I can actually now go food shopping and not have to rely on food banks.”
The independent report concluded that CHSA grants:
- Reduced pandemic-related psychological impact
- Strengthened the workforce
- Improved leadership
- Eased financial pressures for healthcare workers.
CHSA-funded organizations adapted to COVID constraints, benefiting from the RCN Foundation’s support, flexibility, and responsiveness. Overall, CHSA's approach effectively delivered funding to reach beneficiaries through quick decision-making, proactive partner search, risk-taking with emerging organizations, clear criteria, a simplified application process, and forums for collaboration.
You can read the full report here.
Celebrating the impact of CHSA
The reception, hosted on 18 September at the House of Lords, recognised the impact of TikTok’s generous donation alongside the RCN Foundation’s role in setting up CHSA at speed and provided an opportunity to showcase the findings in the report.
The reception included speeches from Professor Jane Cummings CBE, RCN Foundation Chair of the Board of Trustees, Baroness Watkins of Tavistock, TikTok and Frontline19.
