# Centre for Social Justice sets up foundation for grassroots charities

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2021/12/10/centre-for-social-justice-sets-up-foundation-for-grassroots-charities/
- Published: 2021-12-10T10:19:37+00:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The new CSJ Foundation will help to promote grassroots charities, to make their
case in Whitehall, and to match them with philanthropists.**

Figures from the National Council of Voluntary Organisations show that some 97% 
of charities have an annual income of less than £1 million, with almost half of 
charities having an income of less than £10,000.

This has inspired the [Centre for Social Justice](https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/)
to set up the [CSJ Foundation](https://csjfoundation.org.uk/), based on the belief
that while grassroots charities across the country have a wealth of knowledge and
knowhow about the best way to prevent and address poverty, they are often unheard
and underfunded.  

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The CSJ Foundation will also make the case for forgotten regions. Local offices 
have been set up in the North West and East Midlands, with plans to also open in
Scotland, the North East and East Anglia. 

> Last night was the official launch of the CSJ Foundation. You can hear our managing
> director explain more about why we're determined to give small, local charities
> a platform into national policymaking. Watch here: [https://t.co/8PygJUxkrv](https://t.co/8PygJUxkrv)
> [pic.twitter.com/NjzapRzHec](https://t.co/NjzapRzHec)
> — CSJ Foundation (@CSJFoundation) [December 7, 2021](https://twitter.com/CSJFoundation/status/1468146258158268418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

The new foundation was launched at an event on 6 December in Westminster, attended
by political figures including Nadhim Zahawi, Victoria Atkins, Alex Burghart, Robert
Halfon, Robert Buckland, Matt Hancock, Stephen Timms, Carolyn Harris, and Tim Farron,
and former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith who founded the CSJ.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Chairman of the Centre for Social Justice, said:

> ‘Back in 2003 I visited the Easterhouse Estate in Glasgow and was so inspired 
> by the work being there that I founded the CSJ.  Since when, we have looked to
> frontline organisations as the innovators in anti-poverty programmes with real
> impact.  Today, we have an alliance of 400 charities and the CSJ Foundation is
> the next step in our work to bring real life, proven impact, often way beyond 
> the boundaries of the Westminster bubble, into the corridors of power.”

Andy Cook, Chief Executive of the Centre for Social Justice, said:

> “Small, front-line charities are the unsung heroes of the pandemic, where some
> of the most effective poverty interventions are invented, but they have also been
> the hardest hit.  Our aim is to bring their brilliance to the attention of Westminster
> policy makers, and along the way, provide a platform for philanthropists to identify
> and support their work.”

The CSJ also runs the annual [CSJ Awards](https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/about-the-csj-alliance/awards-2021),
which support organisations fighting poverty on the frontline. Winners [receive £10,000](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/10/10/entries-open-csj-awards-2017/)
along with help raising their profile, and other support.