The Community Justice Fund is a new funding programme provided and administered by Comic Relief, which is the operating name of Charity Projects, a registered charity in England, Wales and Scotland.
The aim of the Community Justice Fund is to help organisations address the challenges of inequitable structures and systems, resources and opportunities in society, which inevitably lead to social injustice. The funder views creating positive change as best done by communities living closes to the issues they face daily. Priority will be given to local expertise to ensure that funding is fairer, disrupts power and supports lasting solutions.
This funding call is centred on funding organisations, not projects, in order to enable them ‘to continue the amazing work’ they do with the strongest foundations.
The funding is intended for:
- Led By and For organisations and movements who are working to tackle the injustices that lead to poverty at a structural level. This could include work to change systems, policies and practice to prevent poverty experienced by minoritised communities in the first instance.
- Organisations specialising in racial and or/gender justice.
For the purpose of this funding call, ‘Led By and For’ organisations are defined as ‘Organisations led by and for communities facing long-term systemic injustices, discrimination and exclusion, with a particular emphasis on advancing racial justice and gender justice’.
Grants of between £200,000 and £450,000 are available. The funding is restricted for use over a period of three to five years.
There is no predefined start date. Grant recipients can propose a date that reflects when they will start allocating costs. This could be right after an offer letter with conditions of funding is signed, or after some start-up and preparation steps e.g. kick off and/ or recruitment of staff.
This opportunity is for organisations who work specifically to address long-term systemic injustices, discrimination, and exclusion faced by global majority communities and/or based on gender. This could be lobbying government, working to change attitudes and behaviours through campaigning or group work, or influencing and advocacy work for improved outcomes for marginalised people.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Have an annual income of between £75,000 and £500,000 in the last financial year.
- Be registered and delivering work in the Northeast of England, Wales, West Midlands, and/or Yorkshire and the Humber.
- Have a recent set of annual accounts.
- Have a governing body and leadership team where at least 75% of its members are from the communities they serve.
- Have a track record in and prioritises racial and/or gender justice alongside any other social issues.
Application guidance note, frequently asked questions and the eligibility questionnaire can be found on the Comic Relief website.
The application process is as follows:
- The first stage is to submit the online eligibility questionnaire.
- Those who are eligible may submit a full application by the deadline of 12 noon on 2 May 2024.
- Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a proposal assessment and asked to submit additional information and support documentation.
- Notification of decisions is is expected by 25 May 2024.
