Deadline: 14-Apr-23
The Southwark Council is now accepting applications for its Equalities Grants Programme to support community organisations to thrive and self-organise, and strengthen networks and partnerships; ultimately supporting more inclusive and responsive service delivery.
The Equalities Grants programme is part of the Southwark Stands Together response to the inequalities exposed by COVID-19 and the events of 2020, as articulated by the Black Lives Matter protests. The programme aims to address unequal access for Southwark’s Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities to the grants programmes and was co-produced with community representatives.
As such, funding can be used to pay for:
- Staffing costs
- Premises overheads for a set period of time
- Small capital adjustments to premises
- Training programmes
- Consultancy
- Fundraising capacity
- Digital equipment and software
Funding Information
- £400,000 is available to voluntary and community sector organisations led by those identifying with protected characteristics.
- £200,000 of this sum is ring-fenced for Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led organisations.
Eligibility Criteria
- The eligibility criteria for applicants are:
- Organisations must be based in Southwark
- Organisations must have an annual income of or below £250,000
- Organisations must be led by people identifying with one or more of the nine protected characteristics. Southwark Council defines this as at least 75% of the governing body (ie. the board of trustees or management committee) and at least 50% of senior staff (key decision makers) self-identified as having a protected characteristic
- Organisations must be non-profit – this includes Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs), Community Interest Companies (CIC) and informally constituted community groups.
- This includes organisations who are part of any partnerships intending to apply for joint funding
- At the time that any funding is awarded, organisations must have:
- A governing document, with a management or steering committee of at least three people
- A bank account, with at least two unrelated signatories (three or more is recommended)
- Organisations who do not yet meet the criteria regarding governance documents and bank accounts can apply, though they will ask for this documentation or a partnership arrangement at Stage 3. Groups who are not yet formally constituted and/or without an organisational bank account can be hosted by another organisation who meet this criteria. Partnerships could be agreed ahead of the programme or during Stage 2.
For more information, visit Southwark Council.