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The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales has announced a new racial equity funding programme for small and local charities that are led by, and support, black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities.
From 20 April eligible charities will be able to apply for two-year unrestricted grants of £50,000 alongside development support.
Funding will be open year-round, so that charities can apply without being restricted by deadlines.
Funds will be available to charities with an annual income of between £25,000 and £1m that have a strong track record of helping people from minoritised communities, and where more than half of the trustee board self-identifies as black, Asian or minority ethnic.
The funder has committed at least a quarter of its £9.5m grants budget to small charities led by and for black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities in 2021.
This will build on the funder’s 2020 commitment that awarded 38 per cent of its Covid-19 Recovery Fund Grants to small charities led by members of minoritised communities.
In a statement, the foundation said that, because tackling structural racism and funding inequalities is an ongoing, iterative process, it will continue to apply and revise its application processes to ensure it can continue to meet the 25 per cent funding target.
Announcing the funding, Paul Streets, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank Foundation, said: “The charities we partner with see first-hand how structural and institutional racism continues to affect lives.
“These inequalities are present across the complex social issues we fund, yet charities led by minoritised communities face greater barriers to securing much-needed funding.”
Streets continued: “Small charities led by those who serve these communities have been vital in reaching those who have been less well served by mainstream provision, especially during the pandemic.
“We remain committed in our role as a funder in tackling the funding inequalities facing Black, Asian, and minority ethnic-led charities, to help them continue to reach people facing racial inequalities.”