A five-year core costs grant programme for UK charities that support the delivery of free legal advice to marginalised people and communities has been launched in partnership with the Community Justice Fund.
The Improving Lives Through Advice (ILTA) programme is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund and is intended to help about 75 organisations across England.
The fund aims to: “improve access to high-quality specialist advice for the people who need it most”.
The ILTA will make grants available to organisations that are working to “improve access to advice for people, places and communities who experience the greatest need due to poverty, disadvantage and discrimination”.
It said: “We want to make grants that enable specialist advice organisations to have the capacity and resources to engage with their communities and continue to offer vital advice and support where it’s needed most.”
The funding available to relevant charities will vary depending on their annual income, with the highest bracket allocating £100,000 a year for charities with an annual income that exceeds £250,000.
The grants will run from 2024 to 2029 and will support areas of work including the direct costs of delivering services, organisational development and core costs that support the day-to-day running of organisations.
Applications for the funding are in two stages. The first stage opened earlier this month and will close at 4pm on 15 September 2023. The second stage application process for successful applicants will open on 9 October 2023 and close on 17 November 2023.
Eligible organisations must be registered with the Charity Commission and working in England. Charities must also have a track record of delivering legal advice at a specialist level to marginalised communities.
Further details about the grants are available here.