We are pleased to announce that grants totalling £3 million have been awarded to organisations tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) VAWG Grassroots Fund. 41 organisations were awarded funding of up to £60,000 per year up to two years to support women and girls affected by violence and domestic abuse in London. Funding was made available to organisations who will continue to provide a range of services including bilingual counselling, mentoring and advocacy. 76% of the funded organisations are ‘by and for’ BME-led organisations, delivering dedicated services to women from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds 24% are specialist grassroots organisations delivering services for women from marginalised and minoritised communities, including LBTQI+ women, women involved in prostitution, women with No Recourse to Public Funds and women with disabilities.
Beyond the Streets, said of their funding, “We are delighted to have been awarded a grant from the MOPAC VAWG Grassroots Fund. This funding means we are able to expand the capacity of our Door of Hope team is Tower Hamlets. Covering the salary for a third Women’s Support Worker for two years, the funding helps to ensure that the vulnerable women we work with can find the trauma- informed, specialist support they need.”
Flashy Wings Ministry said “The funding will be used to support women affected by domestic violence. During the pandemic, we realised that women - especially women from African backgrounds - were dealing with complex domestic violence issues. We want to address religious, cultural and immigration issues and how this affects women's lives. We intend to run workshops and digital training. We aim to reach 500 women with our services.”
Working with The Social Innovation Partnership and MOPAC, the fund was open for applications in November 2020. Prior to launch, surveys and sessions with grassroots organisations to help co-design the fund were held.
Decisions on which organisations were chosen to receive funding were made at a panel comprised of women working in the sector. The panel was chaired by Marai Larasi. Diana Nammi (IKWRO), Dorett Jones (Genesis Consultancy), Jain Lemom (MOPAC) and Umme Imam (Angelou Centre) were panel members.
Throughout the two years, funded organisations will be invited to participate in a programme of learning and networking events. These events will be designed based off of feedback from funded organisations as to what kind of support they will need.
Click here to see a full list of funded organisations.
