Open Fund Round 3 - who can apply and grants available

Applications open: 24 Jul 2025 (now open)
 

Deadline: 25 Sep 2025 5pm
 

Grants available: 7 multi-year grants (unrestricted)

 

Who Can Apply

SYLA team
Funded partner Spring Community Hub team and guests

We welcome UK Registered Charities or CICs Limited by Guarantee to apply that: 

  • Are Black-led
  • Do all or most of their work in Lambeth and/or Southwark
  • Are part of their local community
  • Have a strong track record - done good work in Lambeth and Southwark over several years
  • Have leaders and staff with lived experience of the issues they work on  
  • Have strong leadership, a clear vision and good governance

Our vision is for Black-led organisations in Lambeth and Southwark to have power, agency and funding to drive positive change in their communities.

CEF Lyncx
Service users from CEF Lyncx, funded partner

What Grants We Offer 

  • Grants of up to £30,000 a year, for up to 3 years
  • Grants increase with inflation
  • You can use the money flexibly for what your organisation needs (unrestricted)   

We open new grant rounds every 2-3 years, but continue to fund current partners during that time.  

In 2022, 4 to 5 out of 10 eligible applicants got a grant. In 2025, more groups may apply (including CICs for the first time), so fewer may be successful.

Can Your Organisation Apply?

To apply, your organisation must meet all of the following: 

Type of Organisation
  • You must be a UK Registered Charity or CIC Limited by Guarantee (we do not fund CICs Limited by Shares)
  • You must have sent your annual reports on time for the last 3 years - for charities this is to the Charity Commission and for CICs Limited by Guarantee, this is to Companies House
  • If you recently changed from a CIC Limited by Guarantee to a Charity, that's okay - as long as the total time is 3 years or more
Income
  • Each year, for the last 3 years, your income must be more than £25,000 and less than £350,000
  • (We check income for the current year and the last 2 years) 
Black-led Organisation
  • Most of your Trustees, Directors and Staff identify as:
  • Black, African, Caribbean, Black British, Any Other Black, African or Caribbean background
  • (More than half of Trustees or Directors, and more than half of staff)
Work in Lambeth and/or Southwark
  • At least 75% of your work must be in Lambeth and/or Southwark (this must be true for the current year and the last 2 years)
  • If your organisation is based in Lambeth or Southwark, you get priority
  • We also accept applications from organisations based outside these areas if more than 75% of their work is in Lambeth and/or Southwark and they meet our criteria (like income level)
Connected to the Community  
  • You understand the needs of your local community
  • Your leaders and staff have lived experience of the challenges your community faces
  • You can explain your work and how you are part of local networks
Strong Leadership and Learning
  • You have clear goals and strong leadership
  • You can explain how your work helps your community
  • You can talk about what you are learning and how you improve your work
  • You know your strengths and challenges

Good Governance and Finance Systems

 

You must have: 

  • At least 3 Trustees or Directors who are not related
  • Regular board meetings and clear decision-making
  • Policies including Conflict of Interest, Safeguarding and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Good finance systems including:
    • Budgets
    • Regular finance reports (every 4 months or more)
    • Financial controls
  • See FAQs for why we fund organisations with good governance and finance systems in place.

We don’t fund

  • Individuals
  • Nurseries, schools, colleges, universities or their charities (like PTAs)
  • Places of worship
  • One-off events

apply now - key dates and application form 

Organisations we already fund