Eighteen new grants have been awarded focusing on supporting voluntary organisations in the UK to use the law and human rights based approaches. The programme is a collaboration between the Baring Foundation and the Legal Education Foundation.

In September 2015, two new pilot funds were launched. The response has been a significant endorsement of the aims of the programme – over 250 applications were received totalling over £20million in requested funding.

Funding was available through two separate pilot funds:

• training, education and capacity building – seed funding grants of up to £30,000 over six months to two years that support organisations to understand how their objectives can be achieved through use of the law or human rights-based approaches; and
• applied projects – grants of up to £150,000 over approximately three years to create new capacity for work that addresses specific discrimination or disadvantage and safeguards the freedom of purpose, action and voice of the sector, linking the skills of ‘non-legal’ and ‘legal’ organisations to enhance and complement campaigns for social change.

The successful projects cover a wide range of issues, including discrimination and disadvantage faced by girls and young women in care, deaf and disabled people, young people, vulnerable pregnant migrant women and people on welfare benefits. One project focuses specifically on voluntary sector organisations incorporating equality and human rights law into their operations.

Grants have been awarded to organisations in Wales, Scotland and England.

Grants awarded

Training, education and capacity building
Birthrights, Blue Stone Consortium, Brighton and Hove Impetus, Centre for Women’s Justice, Civil Liberties Trust, Clan Childlaw, Just Fair, Freshwinds, Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Migrants’ Law Project (part of Islington Law Centre) and Pembrokeshire People First.

Applied projects
Central England Law Centre, Equality and Diversity Forum, Inclusion London, Children’s Rights Alliance England (part of Just for Kids Law), Maternity Action, Minority Ethnic Carers of Older People Project and Public Law Project.

Please visit www.baringfoundation.org.uk for further details of the grants.