Poverty & Inclusion – Grassroots

We want to fund projects that are rooted in local communities and that address the underlying causes of poverty and exclusion. We expect that projects that are funded through this programme will have a long-term impact on the individuals and communities they support: strengthening voices, increasing cohesion and helping ensure that deprived communities do not lose out as the control of public services shifts from national to local.

Organisations funded through this programme must be able to show that they:

• have identified the barriers to inclusion faced by the group with which they are working;
• work with all sections of the community sharing those common barriers;
• are working towards long-term resolution of the causes of exclusion;
• have evidence to suggest that their approach will reduce barriers to inclusion;
• are able to evaluate the impact of their work.

Types of project we might fund include:

• enabling local people to influence public policy:
• equipping local communities with the skills to participate in the proposed shift towards local management and control of public services;
• exploring new approaches to community development and community inclusion, such as co-production, harnessing the potential of new technology and community organising.

You can only apply for grassroots funding under this programme if your project is based in Birmingham or the Black Country (Wolverhampton, Dudley, West Bromwich, Smethwick or Sandwell).  If you have an idea for a project you would like us to consider funding, please complete our enquiry  form here or phone 020 7632 9068.

If  you have already submitted an enquiry form or discussed your project with us and we have invited you to submit a full application, complete our grant application form here. We strongly suggest you submit an enquiry form or discuss your project with us before spending time on a full application.