Grants database

SpokesPerson seeks to find creative solutions to systemic inequalities to active travel. They work directly with LGBTQIA+, Black and minoritised, and other people experiencing marginalisation, to create better cycling access and confidence. This grant supports SpokesPerson to develop The Bike Chain, a programme combining cycling and bike maintenance skills, self-teaching and career-building for low-income young queer and trans people.

Sounds Like Chaos (SLC) is a radical arts company and collective comprised of 12–25-year-olds from diverse backgrounds in South East London. They create contemporary performance, develop new diverse leaders, employ and commission emerging artists. This grant supports the development of CounterAct, a radical climate justice education programme co-designed by young creatives and school children. SLC will work with three local school classes to co-research, develop and pilot a climate activism toolkit and workshop programme that will be rolled out across local secondary schools.

Ric Flo is a professional artist who works to increase the representation of care experienced artists in the music industry. Through his company Elevated Youth, Ric provides creative services for young people and provides a platform for UK artists in or from foster care. This grant supports the establishment of Mantra Music Record Label which will focus on supporting care-experienced talent and promote community empowerment rather than company profit. Through the label, artists will be supported in their creative confidence and made more visible in the music industry.

Resist + Renew are a collective of friends, activists, artists and radical educators developing and running participatory workshops, training courses and spaces for discussion. They work towards building an autonomous community and a radical learning space centring intersectionality, ecology, feminism, anarchism, anti-racism and direct democracy. This grant supports Resist + Renew to explore how ideas of anti-oppression and conflict resolution can be combined and used in generative conflict in line with the values of Transformative Justice.

RadHR will be a new online space for radical and progressive social change organisations to share practical learnings about how to organise based on values and challenge oppression in the workplace. This grant supports the development of the online platform through which RadHR will create and share anti-oppressive alternatives to policies and processes ranging from parenting and safeguarding to disability and recruitment. The platform will make knowledge and approaches available to smaller UK organisations to use and adapt in line with their own values.

Legacy in the Community is a team of passionate individuals whose aim and purpose is to work together to break down barriers that prevent disabled individuals or those who identify with long-term health conditions from fully participating in society. Their new campaign, Purple Vote, aims to establish a stronger political voice for disabled people. This grant supports the organisation to run regular hustings events with elected officials, and focus groups to gather concerns that can be raised directly with government. Overall, Purple Vote aims to encourage more disabled people to vote in elections as well as stand for elected office.

SustainED (formerly The Solidarity Library) was founded amidst a growing concern over unequal access to knowledge, information and digital technology use. They bring together researchers, practitioners, activists and communities to reshape knowledge production and build a repository of resources and expertise on social justice issues. This grant supports SustainED to mentor young researchers, drawing upon anti-racist methodologies. Through this work, they will aim to bridge research and practice through youth-led research outputs and products that will reach diverse audiences and reshape understandings of justice.

Mary-anne Hodd is a care-experienced trainer, consultant and speaker working to connect the child’s voice to the heart of services through her work Vital Voice. This grant supports the training function of Vital Voice, in which Mary-anne will work with organisations and local authorities to deliver training on strengths-based and trauma-informed approaches to care. Training will later extend to schools, leading to opportunities for young people in community settings.

Business Psychologist Lola Odunsi will create a holistic and multifaceted online based financial wellness programme for Black and minoritised women. The programme will offer mindset coaching, financial education and employability training, and a safe space to discuss money concerns and receive peer support. Through the programme, Lola hopes to contribute to economic justice and wellbeing for Black and minoritised women, their communities and future generations.

Katherine Quarmby is a writer, editor and journalist whose work focuses on social affairs, hate crime and race relations. This grant supports Katherine to scope out planning processes that lead to the environmentally unjust placement of Traveller sites. By looking at four in-depth case studies through Freedom of Information requests and interviews with key stakeholders, Katherine will aim to expose the planning decisions that embed racism and segregation and improve local authority accountability.

Joanne Vance is Founder and CEO of New Beginnings North, a social enterprise with a focus on supporting neurodivergent individuals within, and on the verge of entering the Criminal Justice System in the North East of England. This grant supports the development of In Good Hands, a service to support prolific offenders and those serving short sentences who have neurodiverse needs so they can live safer, law-abiding and fulfilled lives. Specialist keyworkers will provide one-to-one support in prisons and in the community, co-designed with the participants based on their own neurodiverse needs.

The Crimson Wave Project was founded by Jane Rice and Emma Gerbich to provide sustainable menstrual prodcuts, education and community support. This grant supports The Crimson Wave Project to explore the creation of customised menstrual cups using 3D printing technology, that will be distributed on a a pay-what-you-can-basis and free for those on low incomes. They will create a parallel website which will survey each person’s needs and serve as a resource on wider issues related to inclusive reproductive health and a support network for those using menstrual cups for the first time.