THE BARING FOUNDATION: STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY (TACKLING RACIAL INJUSTICE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM)
Grants of up to £50,000 for up to 18 months or up to £90,000 over 3 years are available to UK registered charities with an annual income of under £1 million for activities that address racial injustice in the UK’s criminal justice system.
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o Application deadline: FRIDAY 30th MAY 2025 for Stage 1 applications. This consists of a telephone call with the Foundation to discuss the applicant’s suitability and eligibility for the programme.
o Funder: The Baring Foundation (founded 1969. Charity number 258583. Total charitable expenditure for the year ended 31 December 2023: £5,447,015 (2022: £4,529,885)).
o Who can apply: UK registered charities and exempt charities with an annual income of under £1 million.
o Key words: Addressing Racial Injustice, Criminal Justice System, Schools, Activism, Free Speech, United Kingdom.
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The Baring Foundation has announced a new round of its Strengthening Civil Society grant programme, offering funding to support legal action that addresses racial injustice in the criminal justice system. The Fund has a focus on funding activity which uses the law to:
o Clarify or challenge legislation which disproportionately criminalises racialised people.
o Address the harms caused by police in schools; and
o Address the clampdown on activism in relation to issues of racial injustice (addressing the criminalisation of free speech and protest).
The Foundation defines legal action as described in the Framework for Effective Use of the Law report: that is, activity that uses the law to persuade, empower or challenge. Funding is not available for service delivery work, such as providing advice or support to people on an individual basis.
Grants of up to £50,000 for up to 18 months or up to £90,000 over 3 years are available.
To be eligible, applicants need to:
o Be an anti-racist organisation or have a demonstrable history of working on anti-racism.
o Already be undertaking legal action activities to address racial injustice in the criminal legal system or be able to demonstrate pre-existing plans for doing so.
o Undertake activities that will deliver benefit in the UK (applications for international work will not be considered).
o Be a legally registered not-for-profit entity in the UK, preferably a charity.
o Have at least one full year’s accounts; and
o Have an income of under £1m a year.
There is a 2-stage application process for the programme, consisting of:
1. Stage 1 – the first stage is a telephone call with the Foundation for a discussion about the suitability and eligibility of an applicant’s work. Interested organisations should arrange a time to speak to the Foundation about their eligibility by Friday 30th May 2025 by emailing baring.foundation@ing.com.
2. Stage 2 – once the Foundation has confirmed eligibility to apply, it will invite the applicant to complete a grant application form. The application form should be completed by Wednesday 11th June 2025.
Further information and guidance is available on the Foundation’s website.
Contact details for the Foundation are:
Strengthening Civil Society (Tackling Racial Injustice in the Criminal Justice System)
The Baring Foundation
8-10 Moorgate
London
EC2R 6DA
Email: baring.foundation@ing.