Migration Fund

Amount: Up to £60,000 per year (3 to 4 years); up to £50,000 per year (5 years) 
Deadline: Rolling basis 
Duration: 3 to 5 years 
Four women are on a stage. Behind them is a red banner, with words that aren't readable. Two of the women are calling out at the same time, with one woman in front of a microphone with a raised fist
Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST)

Work with us to bring about a world in which everyone is free to move, and no one is forced to move.

Aim of the fund

We envision a world where:

  • respect, care and interdependence underpin our relationships with one another;
  • differences of opinion and perspectives provide opportunity for reflection and growth;
  • shared learning allows us to both shape our future actions and to stop us from deepening and consolidating harm.

Our funding is our contribution to helping bring about this future. We believe this is only possible through collective and collaborative effort between individuals, organisations, movements, funders and beyond.

Our vision of the future, priorities and commitments are all shaped by input from people who work towards migrant justice every day, and those with direct experience of the UK’s previous and current immigration systems.

As harmful narratives, laws and policies in the UK and internationally expand, punish migrant communities, and incite fear and division, we will continue to invest in a range of strategies to:

  • prevent a roll-back of rights and implement stronger protections and entitlements for those who move in the here and now’;
  • build knowledge, solidarity, and power in our communities;
  • support those who are imagining, rehearsing, and practising the future we want to see for us all.

You can read more about our consultation process and what underpins our vision in this blog.

Who we want to support

Our fund focuses both on how organisations work, and what they seek to achieve.

We are interested in funding organisations whose principles and practice align with our vision of the future.

How you work

This means we want to support organisations who are working towards:

  • embedding anti-racist practice across their organisation and work;
  • adopting an organisational culture that centres care and wellbeing;
  • shifting power to migrants and diaspora communities so their interests, perspectives and contributions are centred across the organisation’s work;
  • building solidarity and collaboration across communities, while working towards transformational change that benefits us all;
  • unlearning and challenging the harm, inequity, and oppression within their organisational structures and work;
  • learning, reflecting and being responsive to change.

What you work on

We want to support work that helps:

  • build a society based on respect, care, and interdependence by dismantling the hostile environment and other harmful laws, policies and practices that negatively affect migrants and diaspora communities;
  • contextualise and tackle root causes of injustice migrants face, building on lessons from our past to dismantle wider systems of oppression and connect with other social justice issues;
  • build collective power within migrant communities through an intersectional lens so they can shape decisions that affect them and create momentum for transformational and positive change;
  • foster solidarity between communities, leading to greater understanding and helping to overcome division;
  • strengthen infrastructure for the migrant justice and related fields, including through supporting greater connection, learning and exchange; and
  • explore alternative futures built on self-determination, justice, acknowledgment and repair for the harms of the past, and where all of us are free to choose where we live.

We recognise the important connection between service delivery and transformational change. We want to support organisations that build on their services to strengthen relationships with their communities and inform their strategic approach to addressing the root causes of the injustices faced by migrant and diaspora communities. However, we will not fund service delivery that does not directly inform the organisation’s strategy towards addressing root causes of injustices.

What we will fund

The Migration Fund is open to applications from not-for-profit organisations of any size working anywhere in the UK. Newly established and unincorporated groups are also welcome to apply if they fit our criteria.

We will consider:

  • core funding for salaries, organisational costs, etc;
  • funding dedicated to a specific programme; or
  • funding for partnerships.

While we will continue to consider applications from a broad range of organisations that align with our vision and critieria, we will prioritise applications from organisations:

  • led by migrants and diaspora communities;
  • that work with historically underfunded groups and regions;
  • with annual turnover under £500,000; or
  • that have less access to funding from other sources.

We are committed to addressing historical under-resourcing of smaller community organisations led by and for migrants and diaspora communities. For organisations with an annual turnover of up to £120,000, we are open to considering grants that cover up to 50% of their annual income.

What we will not fund

In addition to our general exclusions, we are not able to fund applications for:

  • service delivery that is not directly linked with the organisation’s strategic approach to addressing the root causes of injustices faced by migrant and diaspora communities;
  • activities that focus solely on bringing communities together without a direct link to the organisation’s strategic approach to addressing the root causes of injustices faced by migrant and diaspora communities;
  • academic research and programmes, including partnerships between migrant groups and academia;
  • research that does not demonstrate a direct link between findings and taking action towards addressing the root causes of injustices faced by migrant and diaspora communities;
  • work that focuses on supporting people to enter the labour market, such as writing CVs, preparing cover letters, supporting job interviews, etc; or
  • English language classes.

We recognise that these activities are important but, considering our limited funds, these activities are not currently a priority.

Who we have funded

Application process

The Migration Fund operates on a rolling basis. This means organisations can apply at any time as there are no deadlines.

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Getting a decision

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We provide tailored feedback to all unsuccessful applicants. If your application is unsuccessful, you must wait 12 months from the date of the declination before reapplying to the Migration Fund.

Help with applications

Access support bursary

If this application process is inaccessible to you at any stage, please get in touch. We can provide pre-application access support and a bursary of up to £750 to help you apply.

We use an online application system. Please do not submit applications via email as they will not be considered.

Sample application forms can be downloaded as Word and large print documents to review in advance.

Before starting your application, we suggest you also look at our general eligibility criteria for funding.

Get in touch 

To find out more about requesting an enquiry call or to ask a specific question, not covered here, you can reach us at migration@phf.org.uk