Community Justice Fund

Issue focus - Racial Justice and Gender Justice

CJF Cards

PROPOSAL DEADLINE

12PM (BST) Thursday 02nd May 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL PRIORITY AREAS

Northeast England, Wales, West Midlands and/ or Yorkshire and the Humber (in the United Kingdom)

LENGTH OF FUNDING

3 to 5 years (36 months to 60 months)

FUNDING AVAILABLE

Between GBP £200,000 and £450,000

This funding call is now closed

ELIGIBILITY

Led By and For organisations specialising in racial justice and/or gender justice, registered AND delivering work in Northeast England, Wales, West Midlands and/ or Yorkshire and the Humber (further criteria listed below).

APPLICATION PROCESS

Organisations should complete the online eligibility questionnaire to check if they are suitable to apply. If eligible, please read the application guidance carefully before completing the online application form. Links are available at the end of this page.

Submitted applications will be shortlisted based on the funding call criteria – not on amount requested or duration of funding.

We expect to inform organisations of the outcome of an application by Friday 25 May 2024.

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The Details

Introduction

We believe that a just world free from poverty is possible. To achieve this we must address inequitable structures and systems, resources, and opportunities in society, which inevitably lead to social injustice.

The aim of the Community Justice Fund is to help organisations address these challenges. We believe communities living closest to the issues they face daily, are best placed to create positive change. We want to prioritise local expertise, ensuring funding is fairer, disrupts power and supports lasting solutions.

Led By and For Definition

We know organisations and movements that are Led By and For the communities they support, are working tirelessly to transform the systems, policies and practices to create a fairer and more equitable world. Unfortunately, these same organisations also receive the least amount in funding and support to deliver their unique and specialised work.

For the Community Justice Fund our working definition of Led By and For (created in consultation with community experts) is:

“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”.

Meaningful representation and engagement is crucial in building stronger communities. We are looking for organisations who can demonstrate they have a governing body and leadership team whose members are mostly or entirely reflective of the community(ties) being served. For the purposes of this funding call, we mean communities and who are facing long-term systemic injustices, discrimination and exclusion based on their ethnicity and/or gender.

Funding Priorities

Comic Relief is seeking to fund:

  • 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.

Successful applicants to the Community Justice Fund will be offered flexible/core funding to support the work of their organisation. We are looking for proposals to focus on work that focuses on the prevention of poverty. This could include:

  • Influencing and advocacy focusing on improved outcomes for the communities you support.

  • Early intervention services and support for communities, that influence practice, systems and behaviour change.

  • Or a combination of both.

We are offering core/flexible funding – knowing now more than ever – these very organisations need this the most. We define this as financial support that covers the running costs of the organisation which could include salaries of non-project staff, rent, equipment, utilities and communications. This can also include resources for strengthening your organisation’s governance, strategy or other core functions.

We know organisations can feel hesitant about applying for core funding, but this funding call is centred on funding organisations, not projects – to enable you to continue the amazing work you do with the strongest foundations.

Who can apply?

You must fully meet Comic Relief’s general eligibility criteria and the fund specific criteria. We urge you to read all the information and then complete the eligibility questionnaire here(opens in new window).

  • Funding is available for organisations and movements registered and delivering work in the Northeast of England, Wales, West Midlands, and/or Yorkshire and the Humber.

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  • Organisations with an annual income of between £75,000 and £500,000 in the last financial year.

  • Proposals can be made by single applicants, or by partnerships of two or three organisations that will receive funding (only one organisation can act as the lead grant holder).

  • You are welcome to include collaboration with government organisations, but Comic Relief will not fund government organisations.

  • To give as many organisations as fair a chance as possible, organisations can only submit one proposal (though they can be named as partners on any number of applications). Please be aware we will not read more than one proposal per organisation.

Next steps – Application

We welcome your application to the Community Justice Fund if you are eligible, meet the specific criteria and the work of your organisation is aligned to the priorities of this fund.

We expect to receive a high number of applications. To determine your eligibility, please complete this questionnaire here(opens in new window), and if eligible, you will be directed to the online application form.

The application deadline is 12 noon (BST) on Thursday 02 May 2024.

If your application is shortlisted, your organisation will be invited to progress to the next stage, where we will arrange a ‘getting to know you’ meeting, aimed at understanding the work of your organisation in greater detail. At this stage we will ask you to submit additional information/ documentation including:

  • Memorandum and Articles of Association

  • Audited or independently verified accounts

  • Management accounts

  • Safeguarding policy*

  • Equality and Diversity policy*

* If you do not have these policies in place, please do not worry – this does not exclude you from this funding opportunity.

The ‘getting to know you’ meetings will take place between 21 May and 03 June 2024.

Next steps – Information Sessions

If you have a question about applying for this funding opportunity that is not covered above or in our supporting documentation, please join us for a short webinar where you can hear from us about this funding call, including the criteria and process. We will give you the opportunity to submit general questions in advance so please register ahead of time.

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Key reading

All the information you need to consider for this funding opportunity is made available through this webpage including links to the supporting documents below. If, however you have a question that has not been answered here you can email us at fundinginfo@comicrelief.com(opens in new window) (NOTE: please allow at least three working days for us to respond).

Application Guidance

Please read this carefully before completing an application form.



Read the guidance(opens in new window)

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ's about the funding opportunity.

Read the FAQs(opens in new window)

STARTING AN APPLICATION

Take our eligibility questionnaire to check if you're eligible for this funding call. If eligible, you'll be directed to the application form.

Check your eligibility(opens in new window)