Voice4Change England (V4CE) are pleased to announce the Windrush Community Fund. This fund is open to community and grassroots groups and organisations to bid for financial assistance from a £500,000 fund to help ensure that community groups can give support to those of the Windrush generation who may have faced difficulties in demonstrating their status or who may have suffered losses because of this.

The aim of the Windrush Community Fund is to raise awareness and support engagement among those eligible for the government’s Windrush Compensation Scheme and Windrush Scheme.

Charitable, community and grassroot organisations across the UK that work with affected communities can bid for an award from £2,500 up to £25,000, to ensure all people affected by Windrush are aware of the support available and are not missing out on the schemes or latest information.

The Home Office fund has been designed with the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group and will be administered by Voice4Change England. V4CE has no role or connection with the Windrush Scheme or Windrush Compensation Scheme but is focused on assisting community groups who apply for the fund. Final decisions on funding will be made by the Windrush Cross-Government Working Group and the Home Office.

The fund has been set up in particular to encourage applications from those organisations that are led by affected communities or work mainly with affected communities. Affected communities are those facing difficulties in demonstrating their lawful status in the UK, depending on when they arrived, and those who therefore suffered losses in proving their right to work, finding a place to live, accessing healthcare or some other impact.

This covers people who settled in the UK from a Commonwealth country before 1 January 1973, and people of any nationality who were settled before the end of 1988.

The successful organisations will raise awareness of the Windrush schemes, and support victims of the Windrush scandal in several potential ways including:

Promotional and outreach events within a community 

Production and distribution of marketing materials 

Communication campaigns, both online and in person 

Accessing and using communication channels such a social media or the local radio 

Securing support from corporate partners, public or prominent figures or advocates 

The closing date for Phase 1 applications is 12 February 2021. Phase 2 will open for applications on 1 April 2021 and will close on 30 June 2021. To request applications for Phase 1 or to make enquiries please go to https://voice4change-england.com/windrush-community-fund.

Applications are also welcomed from organisations that have links with communities overseas. Applications from several organisations coming together as a consortium will also be considered. More information can be found at www.gov.uk/homeoffice/windrush-community-fund

Successful applicants will be notified by Voice4Change England. The Home Office will then send a grant offer letter to these, with details of arrangements. Funding should be released to all successful applicants within 8 weeks of application submission.

 

21/12/2020