Shoosmiths Foundation is offering UK-based registered charities grants of up to £50,000 to deliver projects and activities that widen access to legal and business service careers for underrepresented groups across the UK.

This funding round is for projects and activities that:

Improve access to higher education and careers in the legal profession for underrepresented groups.
Strengthen support systems for underrepresented groups.
Reduce systemic barriers to legal careers.

Projects must address underrepresentation and support intersectionality more broadly. For example, projects that not only support access to legal profession prospects but also address other factors of underrepresentation such as:

Characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010.
Ex-military personnel.
People with convictions.
People experiencing homelessness.
Long-term unemployed.
Refugees.
Care-experienced individuals.

Proposed projects should relate to areas with lower social mobility prospects, such as the English indices of deprivation and the Scottish index of multiple deprivation.

The deadline for applications is 30 September 2026. For more information please visit Shoosmiths | For What Matters

September 8, 2026

Growing Green Minds: How MACCA's Summer Scheme Planted a Love of Nature in Omagh

When Mullaghmore & Castleview Community Association (MACCA) in Omagh set out to plan this year's summer scheme, they took a chance on something different. Alongside the usual trips to the cinema and play areas, children aged 5 to 14 spent a full week immersed in a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) Future Farmers programme exploring the natural world on their own doorstep. The risk paid off in a big way!

August 12, 2026

Meet the New ONSIDE Evolution Team!

The ONSIDE Evolution Project is set to launch next month, and we are so excited that we thought we’d introduce our training team in advance! Meet the team hard at work preparing materials to make technology more accessible and empower people to use digital tools with greater confidence.

July 28, 2026

Radius Housing Achieves Platinum-Level Tenant Participation Accreditation

Radius Housing has been awarded Supporting Communities' Platinum-level Tenant Participation Accreditation, the highest of the four accreditation levels, in recognition of sector-leading quality in its tenant engagement practices.

July 21, 2026

Choice Housing becomes the first social housing provider to achieve Platinum Tenant Participation Accreditation

Choice Housing has become the first social housing provider in Northern Ireland to achieve Platinum Accreditation under Supporting Communities’ Tenant Participation (TP) Accreditation Framework, setting a new benchmark for tenant engagement across the sector.