New funding available: using legal tools to hold corporations to account

We are excited to announce the opening of a new round of funding for our Strengthening Civil Society programme.

This is the first round of funding under a new theme – supporting the use of the law to tackle corporate harm – agreed by Foundation trustees earlier this year after a programme review.

The sub-theme of this round is migration.

We know that corporate activity can have harmful impacts on migrant communities – this fund will enable civil society organisations to challenge activities which cause such harms and contribute to bringing about wider social change and a more just society. Examples of the type of work we anticipate funding under this call include, but are not limited to:

• undertaking legal research to gather evidence on how companies are using tech to surveil migrant communities;
• bringing legal challenges against companies acting unlawfully in delivering public services to migrants or in relation to migration;
• supporting non-legal CSOs to understand how they can utilise regulators to further their campaign goals; or
• monitoring the implementation of wins already achieved through legal action

Grants of up to £150,000 over three years are available. Applications for up to £50,000 over 18 months will also be considered. We anticipate making 6-7 grants.

Eligible applicants will need to have a history of using legal tools for social change, have an annual income in the region of £2 million; and be a civil society organisation, preferably a charity, with a focus on corporate accountability, or a migrants’ rights organisation able to evidence an interest in holding corporations to account for the harms caused by their activities.

Final deadline: 7 September 2026.

For full details, including full eligibility criteria and how to apply, please read our Application Guidelines.