Grants & support for London’s charitable sector

The Baobab Community Fund

The Baobab Community Fund, a £3m initiative, is now accepting applications. Designed to disrupt the legacy of underfunding faced by Black and Global Majority communities.

This fund supports groups working to challenge oppression and disparity. Applications are welcome from Black and Global Majority individuals, organisations and collectives who are working towards racial justice.

Grants range from £5,000 — £30,000 per year, for up to five years. Deadline for applications: 11:59pm on Monday, 3rd February 2025

Learn more: www.baobabfoundation.org.uk/baobab-community-fund

Funding for grassroots music organisations working with young people

Amplify London is a pioneering fund supporting grassroots music organisations that provide training opportunities and industry pathways for London’s young people.

Five grants of up to £6,000 will be available to support projects starting from February 2025 onwards.

Amplify London aims to support organisations to develop their work, forge links with the music industry and the music education sector and support young people from under-represented backgrounds into music industry careers. 

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Monday, 20 January 2025.

Learn more: www.londonmusicfund.org/amplify-london

Grants to support disadvantaged children, young people and vulnerable older people

The Masonic Charitable Foundation is dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people, as well as vulnerable older people. 

Their Charity Grants programme is open to registered charities in England and Wales working with any of their four main priority groups:

• Improving the health and wellbeing of older people with dementia and their carers
• Early years (0–5) with a focus on poverty and neglect
• Children affected by domestic abuse
• Children with special needs and disabilities

The Foundation offers two sizes of grant:

• Small unrestricted grants range from £1,000 – £5,000 per year, for up to three years.
• Large grants are restricted for specific projects with defined goals and budgets, and may be spent on, for example, salaries, equipment, training, monitoring and administration. Large grants usually range from £10,000 to £60,000 in total. This can be spread over one to three years.

Both Small and Large grants are offered on a rolling basis. There is no deadline for applications.

Learn more at: www.mcf.org.uk/get-support/grants-to-charities

Funding available for facilities damaged by extreme weather

Community organisations affected by the impact of recent storms can apply to Sport England’s Movement Fund to recover quickly.

Supporting emergency relief and helping with costs during a crisis, like flood damage from extreme weather, is catered for by the Movement Fund – with its goal being to get more people active in England.

If eligible, your project could receive up to £15,000 to cover a wide range of costs and items that’ll help deliver positive change in your community.

The fund is open and ongoing, with no date for closure.

Learn more: www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration

Grants for young social entrepreneurs

The Funding Futures Programme from UnLtd is offering Starting Up grants of up to £8,000 and Scaling Up grants of up to £18,000. 

They are seeking to support young people who are working on solutions for those who have been sidelined by the financial system. This support will help to give young people the power to make their communities fairer places to live.

Applicants will need to be aged 16 – 30 years old and operating in the financial inclusion sector. They should be the founder and lead of the social venture.

Apply by 31 December for a decision by the week commencing 24 March 2025. A second application window opens on 1 January until 24 March 2025. 

Learn more at: www.unltd.org.uk/awards/funding-futures-programme

London’s Zero Carbon Accelerator

London’s community groups and cultural and heritage institutions may be eligible for this GLA programme which supports organisations to decarbonise in line with London’s 2030 net zero target. 

The programme focuses on heat decarbonisation, renewable energy, energy efficiency and flexible energy systems, offering consultancy, training and knowledge sharing in collaboration with Mott MacDonald, Energy Saving Trust and others. 

The programme is primarily focussed on providing technical expertise to London-based organisations, wherever they are on their journey to net zero. In some circumstances, grant funding may also be offered.

Learn more: www.zerocarbonaccelerator.london

Free business support for your organisation

Every organisation funded by City Bridge Foundation can apply for free, additional support that goes beyond funding. We call this offer the Bridge Programme.

For instance, we can support your organisation’s development and governance, fundraising or business planning.

The Bridge Programme can include free access to training courses, attendance at conferences, or peer-to-peer learning. Many more support options are available. City Bridge Foundation offers all of this at no financial cost to your organisation.

Find out more at www.citybridgefoundation.org.uk/funder-plus

Peer support group session for London Chairs with a focus on Disabled-led charity boards

The Association of Chairs are partnering with Inclusion London for their next peer session for Chairs working in the capital’s charitable sector. 

Along with Stephen Bunbury, Co-Chair for Inclusion London and Co-Chair of the BME Colleague Network at the University of Westminster, they will be exploring the ​‘skills gap’ often found on Disabled-led charity boards. 

It can be difficult to attract Disabled talent with the skill set for a charity board because of structural barriers that often disproportionally limit opportunities for Disabled individuals with lived experience of disability.

This free session will be a two-hour, in-person facilitated session in the evening. You will be introduced to fellow Chairs, get to know each other and talk though issues with other Chairs who share similar challenges and experiences.

Date: Tuesday, 14 January 2025. 5:30pm — 8pm. Venue details will be given when your booking is confirmed.

Find out more: www.associationofchairs.org.uk/events

Supported by City Bridge Foundation 

Get extra organisational support and give a young person vital work experience

Paid internships from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) are now available to your organisation. 

This is an opportunity to bring fresh perspectives and talent to your organisation. Interns can also add dedicated focus to key projects, and provide additional support to time or resource-poor teams.

The LSE’s Summer Internship Programme is open to charities and other third sector organisations. Interns are final-year undergraduate students who will complete a 140-hour internship, over a minimum of four weeks between 23 June and 25 July 2025. 

The internship is funded by LSE at a rate equivalent to the London Living Wage (£13.85/hr). 

For full details see: Summer Internship Programme Information Pack.

First-year undergraduates from underrepresented backgrounds are also being supported with internships through the Mitchell Family Internship Programme. 

To learn more, see the: Mitchell Family Programme Information Pack.

Women’s Voices is back for 2025!

Does your organisation support women and girls in the UK? Do you have a campaign idea you’d like to bring to life or a communications challenge that you’d like to tackle in 2025?

Back for its ninth year, Women’s Voices is here to connect you with top creative and media experts from organisations like the BBC, Dentsu, Google and Meta. 

Coordinated by Media Trust, this free, full-day event will take place on Wednesday, 5 March 2024 at Meta King’s Cross. Places are strictly limited. 

If selected, you’ll work closely with your dedicated team of industry experts to develop insights and strategies that directly address your communications objectives, giving you impactful and practical campaign ideas for the year ahead.

Find out more at: www.mediatrust.org/events/womens-voices-2025-charities

The Summer Jobs Programme from UK Youth

The Summer Jobs Programme is a six-week initiative for young people aged 16–25 at risk of violence. It includes a preparation week, five weeks of paid work experience, and comprehensive support from youth workers throughout.

Applications from youth organisations to be Local Delivery Partners will open in December. UK Youth will run two information drop-in sessions on Monday 6 and Monday, 13 January 2024. The deadline for applications will be Thursday, 30 January 2025.

Learn more: www.ukyouth.org/what-we-do

Free support for Black and Minority Ethnic organisations 

The free Catalyst Programme from Voice4Change England is open for applications from Black and Minority Ethnic organisations working in the voluntary and community sector. 

Voice4Change England is a national advocate for this sector, with a vision of building a stronger and inclusive civil society to meet the needs of Black, Minority Ethnic and other disadvantaged communities. 

Your organisation could benefit from:

• Needs Assessment
• Organisational Resilience Building Workshops
• Tailored 121 Infrastructure Support
• Newsletter and Signposting
• Networking with other Black and Minority Ethnic Organisations 

Learn more: www.voice4change-england.org/catalyst-programme

Supported by City Bridge Foundation

Online digital and marketing essentials training 

Take your charity’s marketing to the next level with online training in partnership with Media Trust and The Marketing Trust. 

Enhance your marketing knowledge with two expert-led online workshops: Digital Marketing and Marketing Essentials. Both are free and designed to equip you with practical skills to improve your charity’s impact.

Whether you want to master digital or traditional marketing skills, these short interactive sessions offer practical, hands-on strategies you can implement right away. 

Each online training session runs between 10am and 12.30pm over two separate days. Spaces are limited, so book your free spot today!

See: www.mediatrust.org/communications-support

London Now Now – an invitation to Black leaders

London Now Now is a new initiative designed to empower and uplift communities across ten London Boroughs: Barking and Dagenham, Bexley, Greenwich, Hackney, Havering, Lewisham, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest.

Coordinated by Do it Now Now, Black leaders are being asked to complete a short survey to ensure the new London Now Now programmes deliver the support and opportunities the capital’s communities deserve.

Learn more about London Now Now here: www.doitnownow.com/london-now-now

Take the survey here: www.doitnownow.com/blog/lets-shape-the-future-of-london-now-now-together

All those who fill in the survey will be eligible to receive one of five £30 Amazon UK vouchers.

Start the New Year with a fresh perspective on digital design

A free six-week online training programme teaching innovative techniques from the digital world to enhance work and problem-solving abilities.

Starting in January, this free course from CAST is designed to help you explore how digital solutions might help you reach more people, streamline your work, or develop new ways of supporting your audiences.

Bring along a real-life challenge, and CAST will guide you through the process of developing a simple solution. The programme consists of three live Zoom sessions and 10–15 hours of coursework. Spaces are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, with a third held for organisations supporting marginalised communities.

Learn more: www.wearecast.org.uk/our-work/programmes-and-initiatives

Wishing you, your colleagues and your service users the very best for the holiday season and the New Year.

Our team will be working across the festive period, but our office will be closed on the following dates:

• Tuesday, 24 December 2024
• Wednesday, 25 December 2024
• Thursday, 26 December 2024
• Wednesday, 1 January 2025

We look forward to working alongside you in 2025 — supporting your work and the people of London.