The Trustees of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) have agreed a record-breaking Memorandum of Understanding with RMA - The Royal Marines Charity (RMA).
The MOU pledges an incredible £600,000 in funding support to RMA over 2022-24. These funds will be used to assist serving and veteran Royal Marines and their families in acute need through the Charity’s Health and Wellbeing team.
Support offered includes grants for medical, respite, travel costs and urgently needed household goods. Locally sourced therapy is provided for those suffering mental ill-health, while those battling addiction are offered 1:1 guidance. Advocacy is provided for personnel challenging compensation scheme settlements, and vulnerable veterans are accompanied as they transition from service.
This reactive welfare support comes as part of a wider safety net of care provided by RMA all over the UK which seeks to draw in all serving and veteran Royal Marines into its membership association, now numbering over 19,000 and growing 2,000 each year. By encouraging friendship and fellowship through belonging, alongside information and signposting packages, RMA provides proactive and preventative care which staves off challenges and suffering further down the line.
RNRMC is the Royal Navy’s principal charity, founded in 2007 to draw together the charities supporting the Royal Navy and Royal Marines communities, providing funding across a wide range of military and civilian organisations. RMA is part of the RNRMC Group and already benefits from cost-free back office support valued at well over £100,000 a year. The MOU granting £200,000 a year to the charity over 2022-24 is the single biggest grant commitment RMA has received from any funding body since the Royal Marines Association and Royal Marines Charity merged in 2019.
We are delighted to have secured this multi-year funding from RNRMC which will provide a third of our expected grant-making to Royal Marines and families in need over the next three years.
RMA Chief Executive Jonathan Ball
He continued: “The grant comes at a time when the pandemic has made fundraising extremely challenging and provides security and reassurance to our beneficiaries.
“This is the latest commitment of support from RNRMC which indicates our close collaboration which is all to the greater benefit of the Corps Family.”
RNRMC Chief Executive Adrian Bell added: “Our MOU with RMA arises from our confidence in the innovative proactive and preventative support which RMA offers alongside excellent reactive care. This is a model which we want to encourage elsewhere in our serving and veteran communities.”
