Open Call: A B Charitable Trust Grant Programme (United Kingdom)

Deadline: 25-Apr-25

The A B Charitable Trust is inviting applications for its grant opportunity to support work that promotes human dignity and defends the human rights of the most marginalised and excluded people.

Priority Areas

They fund organisations who work in these priority areas:
- The Human Rights Framework:
  - The human rights framework in the UK, and corresponding protections which uphold democratic processes and the rule of law – are the foundation of all the work that they seek to support across the priority areas.
  - They support organisations that work to uphold, enhance and implement the human rights protection frameworks in the UK, defend civic space and hold the Government to account around human rights protections. Occasionally, they support organisations that support an enabling environment for human rights.
  - The funding is focused on work across the whole human rights framework, and this does not include single issue or single right campaigning work, or human rights work focused on particular groups, unless these are captured by the other funding streams.
- Access to Justice:
  - Access to justice is a fundamental concept that underpins democracy and human rights.
  - Many people experience multi-faceted problems that may have an unrecognised legal solution. They support organisations that promote access to justice through the provision of specialist legal advice and representation, by which they mean the delivery of specialist advice relating to the resolution of a legal problem where the advice is tailored to the individual’s circumstances, normally including end-to-end casework through to representation.
  - They also support work which focuses on defending and improving the system in which people can obtain justice, as an integral part of the rule of law.
  - They aim for the funding to have an impact on the most marginalised and excluded communities.
- The Criminal Legal System and Penal Reform:
  - Individuals who come into contact with the criminal legal system, particularly those from marginalised and racialised communities, face multifaceted challenges, exacerbated by a system which is overcrowded and unable to meet their needs.
  - Civil society organisations play a key role supporting individuals, as well as shining an independent light on the system and holding the state to account.
  - They fund organisations that work with people either within the criminal legal system, or at imminent risk of coming into contact with the system, and that support individuals to resettle successfully in the community.
  - They particularly want to support organisations that are actively working to promote a just and equitable system.
  - They aim for the funding to have an impact on the most marginalised and excluded communities.
- Migrants and refugees:
  - People who move to the UK often have to navigate a complex and hostile legal and policy environment, facing numerous barriers which undermine their ability to live with dignity.
  - They support organisations working to achieve a just and supportive environment for people who migrate to the UK, are refugees or people seeking asylum. This includes work to deliver services, policy, advocacy and influencing, campaigning, narrative change, and community organising.

Funding Information

Grants range in size, with most grants awarded being in the range £10,000 to £30,000.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, your organisation will:
- Have a mission, aims and objectives aligned with one of the four priority areas. This must be either the sole focus, or the majority of your work and they are unlikely to fund organisations with a broader remit.
- Be registered as a UK charity, delivering work in the UK
- Have an annual income between £150k and £1.5m (this applies to the most recent signed accounts and the two subsequent financial years – this would include draft figures and forecasts).
- Have operated for at least a year and be able to provide a full year’s audited or independently examined accounts.