Strengthening the Voluntary Sector programme awards £1,066,000 in new grants

The Baring Foundation is pleased to announce 18 new grants focused on the use of the law and human rights based approaches by the voluntary sector. All the grants support the core purpose of the Foundation: to tackle discrimination and disadvantage.

This is the second round of funding designed to support the effective use of the law and human rights based approaches by the voluntary sector in the United Kingdom, and a collaboration with the Legal Education Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. We received a large number of responses – 180 applications totalling over £16,400,000 in requested funding – which is testament to the enthusiasm of the voluntary sector to use the law and human rights based approaches.

Funding was available through two separate funds:

• training, education and capacity building – seed funding grants of up to £30,000 over six months to two years that support organisations to understand how their objectives can be achieved through use of the law or human rights based approaches; and
• applied projects – grants of up to £150,000 over approximately three years to create new capacity for work that addresses specific discrimination or disadvantage and safeguards the freedom of purpose, action and voice of the sector, linking the skills of ‘non-legal’ and ‘legal’ organisations to enhance and complement campaigns for social change.

The successful projects cover a wide range of issues, including discrimination and disadvantage faced by children and young people, the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community, vulnerable workers, women in maternity care, BAME women, and migrants and refugees.

Grants have been awarded to organisations in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England.

Grants awarded

Training, education and capacity building

Citizens Advice Plymouth, Friends, Family and Travellers, Hospice UK, Kinship Carers, Lasa, Law Centres Network, National Children’s Bureau, Participation and the Practice of Rights, Redress and Women’s Equality Network Wales.

Applied projects

Asylum Support Appeals Project, Birthrights, Centre for Women’s Justice, Community Law Advice Network (Clan Childlaw), Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), Simon Community Northern Ireland, Sisters for Change, and Sustain: the Alliance for Better Food and Farming.

Full details of the Strengthening the Voluntary Sector programme are available here.