Grants are available to small registered charities, voluntary groups and charitable organisations in the UK for work that makes a difference to people's lives as opposed to simply alleviating the symptoms or current problems and should aim to reduce isolation, stigma and discrimination.

Fund Information

Funding body: Allen Lane Foundation
Maximum value: £15,000
Application deadline: None specified

Objectives of Fund

The Foundation makes grants to voluntary not-for-profit organisations in the UK for work which benefits groups of people who are under-represented in UK society.

Overall, the Foundation wishes to fund work which:

Will make a lasting difference to people's lives rather than simply alleviating the symptoms or current problems.
Is aimed at reducing isolation, stigma and discrimination.
Encourages or enables unpopular groups to share in the life of the whole community.

Value Notes

The Foundation typically makes around 150 grants in a year with a total value of between £750,000 and £800,000.
The Foundation makes single grants, or grants split over two or three years.
One-off grants of between £500 and £15,000 are available. The average grant is between £5,000 and £6,000.
Grants repeated for more than one year vary from around £500 per annum up to £5,000 per annum, for a maximum of three years.

Who Can Apply?

Small registered charities, voluntary groups and charitable organisations in the UK can apply.

Registered charities are eligible to apply as well as other organisations which are not charities, but which seek funding for a charitable project. This could include, for example, constituted voluntary groups or Community Interest Companies

Eligible Expenditure

The Foundation aims to help organisations to become sustainable. The funding will support running and core costs to enable them to have flexibility, security and longevity.

The funding is for work that takes place within the UK.

To be eligible, the work must directly benefit adults from the following groups or generalist work which includes significant numbers from more than one such group:

Asylum seekers and refugees (but not groups working with a single nationality).
Gypsies and Travellers.
Migrant communities.
Offenders and ex-offenders.
Older people.
People experiencing mental health problems.
People experiencing violence or abuse

The following types of activities are eligible for support:

Provision of advice or information.
Advocacy.
Arts activities where the primary purpose is therapeutic or social.
Befriending or mentoring.
Mediation or conflict resolution.
Practical work, such as gardening or recycling, which benefits both the provider and the recipient.
Self-help groups.
Social activities or drop-in centres.
Strengthening the rights of particular groups and enabling their views and experiences to be heard by policy-makers.
Research and education aimed at changing public attitudes or policy.
Work aimed at combating stigma or discrimination.
Work developing practical alternatives to violence

Grants may be used for start-up, core or project costs, for example:

Volunteers' or participants' expenses.
Venue hire.
Part-time or sessional staffing costs.
Work aimed at strengthening the organisation such as trustee or staff training.

The Foundation is particularly interested in unusual, imaginative or pioneering projects which have perhaps not yet caught the public imagination.

Location

United Kingdom (but not for work within Greater London)

How To Apply?

Applications can be made at any time and are considered three times a year, generally in February, June and October. Processing an application and making a grant usually takes between two and six months. Groups should apply as soon as they are ready as applications are processed ‘all the time’.

Applications received from mid August 2021 until the beginning of December will be considered in the round leading up to the February 2022 meeting.

Applications to the Social Cohesion Programme are now paused until at least the summer of 2022 as the Trustees are concerned about the level of need across all of the Foundation’s main funding programmes.

The Foundation has an online application system. The first step is to go through the online eligibility quiz. Those who are eligible will be directed to the application form.