Funding Programmes

Funding Programmes

The core of Our Strategy 2020-2025 is delivered through three programmes, two of which are delivered primarily through grants. Alongside grants, we offer additional advice and support to grantees where they need it, as well as undertaking direct charitable work ourselves. You can find out more about our three programmes in this section.

We are also in the process of developing our new strategy for 2025-2030, which will launch in summer 2025. This means that the autumn 2024 open grants round, for which applications have now closed, was our last round open to new applications until autumn 2025. In 2025, our Spring grant round will only be open for renewals for organisations currently funded under LEF’s open programmes, whose grants are due to end during 2025. It will be closed to all other applications as we prepare to announce our new strategy. Our Autumn 2025 grant round will then be open to everyone for new applications under our new strategy.

Open grants webinars

In June 2024, we hosted a webinar for organisations interested in applying to the LEF as part of our autumn 2024 open grants round. To watch the section of the webinar which goes into detail on Stronger Sector and Fairer Systems, click here. You can also find a transcript of the webinar here.

Stronger Sector

This grants programme offers flexible funding for organisations using the law to promote social justice. It aims to strengthen the capacity of individuals and organisations to deliver their important work effectively and sustainably. It also includes the Justice First Fellowship.

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Fairer Systems

This grants programme supports work to influence how laws are made and implemented. It aims to promote transparency, accountability and the protection of fundamental rights.

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Smarter Justice

This programme seeks to strengthen a commitment to collecting and learning from robust evidence in the design and operation of the UK justice system. We are taking forward this work by building learning activities into all our grants and will supplement this with further proactive grants and commissions. There are currently no open grants rounds under this programme.

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