£50 million partnership to boost National Lottery funding to Black & Minoritised community-led charities & groups
Melanie May | 1 July 2021 | News
The National Lottery Community Fund and The Ubele Initiative, on behalf of The Phoenix Way Partners, have announced a new £50 million partnership aimed at boosting funding and support to Black and Minoritised community charities and grassroots groups over the next five years.
The Phoenix Way will create a series of national and regional panels, made of leaders and decision-makers from Black and Minoritised community-led charities and grassroots groups from across England. Partners on the programme also include Black South West Network, Kanlungan Filipino Consortium, BRAP, and Lives of Colour.
Its Steering Group is is made up of leaders from Black and Minoritised communities from across England and will work with The National Lottery Community Fund to identify national and regional priorities and award funding to Black and Minoritised community-led charities and grassroots groups best placed to help their communities thrive.
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The Phoenix Way builds on The Phoenix Fund, which is a £2.4 million community-led fund co-designed and co-led by community leaders from across Black and Minoritised groups in England in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, The Ubele Initiative, and Global Fund for Children. Designed to target groups that The National Lottery Community Fund had not previously engaged, than 65% of the organisations that applied to the Phoenix Fund had no previous history with The National Lottery Community Fund.
The new Phoenix Way aims to help facilitate engagement with Black and Minoritised community-led charities and grassroots groups to enable them to access funding and support that have previously failed to reach them and have been difficult for them to access.
Operational details of The Phoenix Way programme will be designed and developed over the summer with the aim of awarding funding from autumn 2021. Black and Minoritised community-led charities and grassroots groups wishing to register an interest in the programme should email th***********@ub***.org.
Yvonne Field, Founder and CEO at The Ubele Initiative, said:
“This £50m investment in The Phoenix Way allows partners to connect directly with those with lived experience of racism and racial disparities, and work together to offer innovative and creative funding opportunities in response to identified challenges.
“The Phoenix Way will also facilitate the deepening of a unique collaborative approach, which emerged during COVID-19, and to work together to transform systems of funding, decision-making, and support to Black and Minoritised communities and organisations over the next five years.
“We will develop national and regional priorities, and decision-making will primarily take place at the regional level in response to these priorities.
“The Ubele Initiative and The Phoenix Way partners will work with The National Lottery Community Fund to capture and share learning to shape the future of grant giving to embed the principles of participation and collaboration with those with lived experiences and equity in processes and decision-making across England.”
Abdou Sidibe, Deputy Director of Partnerships at The National Lottery Community Fund, added:
“This is a truly collaborative effort – combining National Lottery funding with the reach, lived experience, and expertise of The Ubele Initiative and our Phoenix Way partners – so that vital money and support reaches some of those communities that need it most, but can often struggle to access it.
“By shifting out of our comfort zone, admitting we don’t always have all the answers, and by instilling collaboration into everything we do, we can reap rewards of working alongside expert organisations to ensure that National Lottery funding is genuinely for everyone.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.