Aims/priorities: The Strengthening Civil Society (SCS) programme is a collaboration with the Legal Education Foundation and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
In 2021, the SCS programme began supporting work which uses legal action to address racial injustice in the criminal justice system (CJS) and bring about wider social change. The Foundation will be reviewing the CSC programme throughout 2025 and it is expected that a new strategy for the programme will be released in January 2026.
In this round, the Foundation has narrowed its focus to support work that will use the law to:
- Clarify or challenge legislation which disproportionately criminalises racialised people.
- Address any racial injustice/s caused by police in schools.
- Address the clampdown on activism in relation to issues of racial injustice (addressing the criminalisation of free speech and protest).
Who can apply? Applications will be considered from charities registered in the UK (or charities exempt or excepted from registration) or other not-for-profit entities with an income of less than £1 million per year.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be an anti-racist organisation or have a history of working on anti-racism.
- Already be undertaking legal action activities to address racial injustice in the CJS or be able to demonstrate pre-existing plans for doing so.
- Be planning to undertake activities under the grant which delivers benefit in the UK (applications for international work will not be considered).
- Have at least one full year’s accounts.
Organisation that currently hold a grant from the Foundation may apply as long as they meet the criteria.
The Foundation encourages collaborative working when using the law to achieve long-term social change.
Grant amount: Grants of up to £50,000 for 18 months are available.
Grants of up to £90,000 over three years will be considered where a longer development phase is required.
Application process: There is a two-stage application process:
- The first step in the application process is to contact the Baring Foundation via email to arrange a call to discuss suitability and eligibility of the proposed work. The deadline to arrange an eligibility phone-call is 30 May 2025.
- Eligible applicants will be invited to complete a full application. The deadline for applications is 11 June 2025.
Application guidelines and the online applications portal can be found on the Baring Foundation website.
Contact the Baring Foundation for further information.
Deadline: Wednesday 11 June 2025.
Contact information: Email: baring.foundation@ing.com