The Phoenix Fund aims to put racial justice at the heart of COVID-19 pandemic response. The initiative will support a network of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic charities and groups in England that are working in the heart of their communities, providing essential and emergency services, support, and education tailored to the BAME community.
A collaborative panel of individuals who have understanding and lived experience working with Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities will drive the fund’s grant-making decisions, awarding grants to BAME-centred and -led community organisations.
The Phoenix Fund was established with the support of The National Lottery Community Fund and Global Fund for Children. The National Lottery Community Fund has committed £1.4 million to the Phoenix Fund, made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and protests for racial justice sweep the world, the time to decisively support BAME leadership and relief efforts is long overdue.
Survey data from the Ubele Initiative, a convening partner of the Phoenix Fund, shows that nine out of ten micro and small BAME organisations are at risk of closing within three months due to COVID-19. This research helped prompt the convening of BAME-led infrastructure and community groups from across England, starting in May 2020 and leading to the co-creation of the Phoenix Fund.
For years, BAME organisations have faced systemic barriers to accessing resources to carry out their vital work. Now, throughout the UK and worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting BAME organisations and populations, deepening racial inequality and threatening their existence.
Through 30 September 2020, Global Fund for Children and The National Lottery Community Fund invited organisations in England that are led by representatives of the Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities to apply for grants of up to £20,000.
The Phoenix Fund supports groups that:
The Phoenix Fund is not able to support:
The decision-making committee meets every two weeks to assess applications, and there are four rounds of grant-making decisions. Funding decisions will not be made on first come, first served basis, and there will be funding available up until the final deadline. Please note that the Phoenix Fund is now closed to new applications, and please ensure you have read our most recent update for applicants.
Round 1:
Application deadline: 21 August 2020
Panel meeting: 2 September 2020
Awardees notified: Early October 2020
Round 2:
Application deadline: 2 September 2020
Panel meeting: 16 September 2020
Awardees notified: Early November 2020
Round 3:
Application deadline: 16 September 2020
Panel meeting: 30 September 2020
Awardees notified: To be confirmed
Round 4:
Application deadline: 30 September 2020
Panel meeting: 14 October 2020
Awardees notified: To be confirmed
Phoenix Fund grant winners will receive flexible, core funding to meet critical needs and continue their organisations’ missions. These grants aim to more effectively support local groups with limited access to resources, which are often restricted to specific interventions. Making a grant flexible allows an organisation to make its own decisions about what is most important for its operations and programmes.
Please note that the application form processes slowly in some internet browsers. If the form does not load, please try accessing it in the latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Safari.
Do you need additional support to complete the application process? Please email us at [email protected] and we will be happy to assist you.
Thank you to all those who have taken the time to apply to the Phoenix Fund. We are delighted at the level of interest, and we received 1347 applications in total across Rounds 1–4. In order to process all the applications and stay true to the participatory grant-making process, there will unfortunately be a delay in decision-making by the community-led panel. We will make every effort to balance the urgency of grant-making with our commitment to ensuring that each and every eligible application is carefully considered by the selection panel. We are delighted to share that the community-led panel has reviewed 792 applications by the end of September, and that applicants are now beginning to hear the outcomes of their applications. We will continue to post further updates here. Once all selected applicants have received their grants, we look forward to sharing more details about the grantholders and the fund.
See the Phoenix Fund grantholders by the regions in which they work. We will update this list on a rolling basis as additional grantholders are announced.
Do you have another question? Please email us at [email protected] and we will be happy to respond.
Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions or need additional assistance.
The Phoenix Fund was established with the support of The National Lottery Community Fund and Global Fund for Children. The £1.4 million commitment from The National Lottery Community Fund was made possible thanks to National Lottery players and makes available £1 million in grants to Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities across England and a further £400,000 to support further development of the fund.
The partnership is expected to inform The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, in developing its approach to equity and inclusion and to funding diverse groups.
Header photo provided by the Ubele Initiative, a convening partner of the Phoenix Fund.
* We recognize the diversity of individual identities and lived experiences, and we recognize that BAME is an imperfect term that does not fully capture the racial, cultural, and ethnic identities that experience structural and systematic inequality. Whenever possible, we attempt to name individuals as they themselves prefer to be named.
** (1) 51% or more of the board and senior management team are from BAME backgrounds, or (2) the organisation self-defines as BAME-led based on who is making their key strategic decisions. By “making key decisions” we mean that decisions on core strategic and financial matters are taken by a diverse group of decision-makers, not that consultation is undertaken as part of decisions that are subsequently taken by a group that is not BAME-led.
Global Fund for Children (GFC) UK Trust, created in 2006, is a UK registered charity (UK charity number 1119544). We work to generate vital income, create new fundraising opportunities, and raise awareness of the invaluable work of GFC’s grassroots grantees. Our aim is to extend the reach of GFC in the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond.
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