Edge Fund to support radical social change
Howard Lake | 8 October 2012 | News
A new grantmaking organisation has been established to provide “radical funding for radical change”. The Edge Fund is now open for applications.
It aims to “support communities, campaign groups and activists struggling for social, economic and environmental justice”.
In particular it will support those who are working for systemic change – “those who seek to dismantle and replace the structures and processes that create oppression, inequality and environmental destruction”.
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It will also support those who are fFacing discrimination and injustice “because of their class, ability, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or other factors”.
The Edge Fund was initiated by a small group of philanthropists and activists in early 2012 who wanted to explore how funds could be distributed in a way that both devolved the power of donors and created real and systemic social change. At one of the group’s first meetings those present debated “Occupy Philanthropy: how can we devolve the philanthropic power of the 1% to the 99% to create the social change we need?”
Challenging philanthropy
The fund is not only focusing on creating new and more sustainable sources of funding “based on the solidarity of the many, rather than the generosity of the few”. It will also try to “challenge traditional grant-making values and practices by being pioneering and providing a model that can be followed by others”.
How to apply
The first round of funding is open for applications from 1 October to 1 December 2012. Grants are not likely to be more than £5,000 and are for UK-based groups only.
Applicants need submit only one page from you describing who they are, their group’s annual income, what they do and how they fit the guidelines.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.