About BHF
Today we launch our Annual Report and Accounts 2021
The report shows that despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were able to fund around £52m of new research grants in 2020/21 as well as fulfil our funding commitments to the world-leading researchers we have already made.
However, the report also shows that the pandemic has been the biggest challenge we have faced in our 60-year history.
Our net income fell by around halve, largely as a result of our 730 shops and stores having to close for months on end and due to the cancellation of our much-loved face-to-face fundraising activities.
Despite these challenges, the report outlines the swift and difficult decisions we made to manage our costs whilst protecting as much of our life saving research as we could and ensuring we were there for heart and circulatory disease patients who needed us more than ever.
• We have continued to protect our research mission at this unprecedented time through our grant extension scheme and additional support opportunities for early career researchers.
• We have used our position as a major research funder to provide a rapid and agile response to the coronavirus pandemic, using our existing research ecosystem to catalyse the set-up and delivery of NIHR-BHF flagship Covid-19 research projects across the UK.
• Our Coronavirus hub quickly became a vital resource to people living with heart and circulatory diseases and has helped support over 5 million users during the first year of the pandemic.
Optimistic about the next 60 years
In a year that tested the BHF like no other, we are proud that our response to the crisis, supported by our robust reserves position and healthy fundraising performance, has put us in a strong position for the future. In this recovery year we feel optimistic about our abilities to maintain our commitment to life saving research for our next 60 years.Whilst a challenging year – this report showcases the life saving research we invested in and highlights the incredible contribution of our supporters, volunteers and staff.