Improving Lives Through Advice Grants Programme
Funding body: National Lottery Community
Maximum value; £500,000
Application deadline: 15/09/2023
Grants are available for registered charities working in England to provide access to specialist welfare legal advice to the most marginalised communities in England, including people with disabilities, women fleeing abuse and families facing eviction.
Objectives of Fund
The funding is intended to ensure continued access to specialist social welfare legal advice to some of the most marginalised communities in England and aims to transform lives, address systemic issues, and empower individuals, families, and communities in need by funding organisations working at the frontline.
Marginalised communities is defined for the purposes of this grant programme as ‘communities of place, people or interest most in need, experiencing exclusion and at risk of facing barriers to accessing advice services’.
There will be two funding rounds:
- Round one is focused on funding specialist legal advice organisations.
- Round two will prioritise funding to groups led by and for marginalised communities. These can be organisations delivering advice services, and/or those working closely with advice organisations to improve access for marginalised communities. (Further information will be made available in Autumn 2023)
A total of £30 million is being made available. It is anticipated that approximately 75 organisations will be granted funding over two funding rounds.
The amount of the grant will depend on the size of the organisation:
- Annual income above £250,000
- grants of up to £100,000 per annum – maximum grant of £500,000 over five years.
- Annual income between £150,000 – £250,000
- grants of up to £75,000 per annum – maximum grant of £375,000 over five years.
- Annual income below £150,000
- grants of up to £50,000 per annum – maximum grant of £250,000 over five years.
Grants will run for five years from 2024 to 2029. Grants for the first round are expected to begin in March 2024.
Who Can Apply
To be eligible for funding, organisations must be:
- Registered with the Charity Commission.
- Working in England.
- Able to demonstrate a track record of delivering legal advice in one or more of the following areas of law:
- Asylum.
- Community care.
- Debt.
- Disability.
- Discrimination.
- Education.
- Employment.
- Housing.
- Immigration,
- Mental health.
- Public and administrative law.
- Welfare benefits.
- Able to demonstrate a track record in delivering advice at specialist level including carrying out end-to-end casework for clients, carrying out representation in a court or tribunal and/or holding legal aid contract.
The advice must relate to a legal problem or the resolution of a legal problem. Some examples are:
- Acting for a client in a homelessness or eviction case
- Appealing a refusal of benefits (after the initial application)
- Dealing with legal threats from creditors
- Applying for debt relief orders/insolvency
- Advising on immigration and asylum applications and appeals
- Advice on employment rights or disputes
- Challenging decisions of public bodies
- Challenging cases of discrimination etc.
- Providing assistance and advocacy in Courts or Tribunals.
The following are not eligible for funding:
- Organisations and activities outside of England
- Specific projects or services
- Generalist advice
- Matters covered by the Legal Aid Scheme
- Private sector legal aid practices
- Individuals
- Activities that make profits for private gain
- Payment that supports lobbying or activity intended to influence or attempt to influence Parliament, Government or political parties, or attempting to influence the awarding or renewal of contracts and grants, or attempting to influence legislative or regulatory action (any lobbying activity)
- Using grant funding to petition for additional funding
- Input VAT reclaimable by Grant Recipient from HMRC
- Payments for activities of an exclusively religious nature
- Payments reimbursed or to be reimbursed by other public or private sector grants
- Contributions in kind (i.e. a contribution in goods or services, as opposed to money)
- The acquisition or improvement of fixed assets
- Gifts to individuals other than promotional items with a value of no more than £25 a year to any one individual
- Entertaining (entertaining for this purpose means anything that would be a taxable benefit to the person being entertained, according to current UK tax regulations)
- Statutory fines, criminal fines or penalties
- Liabilities incurred by the Grant Recipient before the issue of any Grant Agreement unless agreed in writing by the Fund.
Eligible Expenditure
The aim is to improve access to high quality specialist advice for the people who need it most. Multi-year core costs grants will be given to organisations who can help achieve the following outcomes:
- Advice to people from marginalised communities is sustained and improved. The focus is on organisations working to improve access to advice for people, places and communities who experience the greatest need dues to poverty, disadvantage, and discrimination.
- More people from marginalised communities are empowered to identify, understand and resolve their legal problems. Funding so that specialist advice organisations can connect with communities through greater sharing and advice coordination, with the result that people are empowered in their legal matters and supported through the process.
- Organisations have more capacity to engage in influencing, partnerships and fundraising work, which helps them meet the needs of their communities. Grants to enable specialist advice organisations to have the capacity and resource to engage with their communities and continue to offer vital advice and support where it is needed most. Longer term funding means that organisations can develop partnerships, work to leverage further funding and influence policy and/or practice (but will not use this funding for lobbying, or to influence Government or political parties).
- Organisations are better able to demonstrate the difference they make to people’s lives. Organisations that sit at the heart of their communities (and communities of interest) and which have been developed for and by those communities are often better placed to demonstrate their impact and the difference they make to people’s lives. Grants for organisations with a track record and commitment to learning, evaluation and using advice as a tool for community wide impact.
How To Apply
There is a two-stage application process:
- Expressions of Interest to the first round are currently being accepted with a deadline of 15 September 2023 (4pm). Notification of decisions expected at the beginning of October 2023.
- Successful applicants will be invited to submit a second stage application which will open on 9 October 2023 and close on 17 November 2023. Notification of decisions is expected in December 2023.
Contact the Community Justice Fund for further information: The Community Justice Fund | Community Justice Fund
To apply: Apply for a Grant | Community Justice Fund
- Enquiries
Access to Justice Foundation
PO Box 64162
London
WC1A 9AN
Email: grants@atjf.org.uk