The new era of UK grant funding is a Common Call

We are pleased to announce a fund, raised from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, to support Black-led charities and social enterprises making a difference in their local communities across the UK. 

Common Call is poised to redress the lack of resources, skills and tools that inequality of resource allocation metes upon the Black community in the UK. Through the provision of funding and wrap-around support, we will empower Black people building organisations that have been negatively affected by the COVID crisis to engage actively and beneficially in the communities in which they live. 

​To understand the impact of COVID-19 on our community, we carried out a few in-depth interviews with founders. Based on those interviews, we understand that the key challenges they are currently facing in the COVID-19 crisis are:

1. Transitioning to new models of delivery: much of the social impact work done to support the Black community is built on face to face interaction. As a culture that is built primarily on communal gatherings and frequent lively conversation, founders have found it difficult to engage in their work to the same level of impact. There are also the related costs. From laptops and webcams to needed software subscriptions and more that add up each month.
2. Reduced fundraising ability and loss of core/unrestricted income: founders in the social impact space must be very cautious in terms of resource allocation and strategic planning. With so few funds providing unrestricted funding and even fewer funds supporting any Black-led social enterprises, it is incumbent upon the leadership of these impact-driven organisations to plan effectively and far in advance. The inability to carry out revenue-based work with corporations, the inability to continue with fee-paying events that are a large percentage of revenue, has greatly affected the cash flow of many organisations.
3. Reduced staff capacity: Many have had to scale back their operations and activities significantly during the crisis but need to ready themselves for an intense period of delivery as restrictions are being eased. For example one of the organisations we spoke with provides tutoring for disadvantaged GCSE students, they have seen an increased level of need after a prolonged period of homeschooling and they need to recruit and train more tutors to meet that demand.
4. Lack of access to government support: None of the founders we spoke with were able to claim any governmental support as an organisation and are yet to gain access to any funding for their work from the COVID-19 grant schemes that have since been released.

With an unstable team, a lack of awareness about what the future holds and very little track record with funders existing, it is difficult for Black-led social enterprises to access the support that is potentially available to them. That is why this is such an important opportunity and we are the right gatekeepers to facilitate and deploy this funding. We already have a keen understanding of the challenges and needs of Black social entrepreneurs and charity leaders are because we work intimately with them throughout the year. We have the expertise to support their growth and development as well as to engage them in effective fund management and impact measurement.

Black-led organisations are often unable to access the amount of funding that is needed to carry out great pieces of work that will create a transformative impact on underserved communities around the country because they have limited track record of finance or funds management. We have the opportunity with this Common Call COVID Fund, to provide a package of funding and support into highly promising yet underserved organisations. Through this fund, we can support them and give them a better chance to continue their services and navigate this crisis.

We expect our beneficiaries will be primarily working in:

• Arts and Culture
• Employment, Education and Training
• Mental Health and Wellbeing, or
• Citizenship and Community

The majority of the organisations we support rely on grant funding, personal savings and in some cases pay-day loans to help them bridge the financial gap to deliver on their charitable objectives and social aims. They typically describe their beneficiaries as “people of ethnic minority background”, “young people”, “living in poverty”. On average, more than 200 people a year with in-person and online initiatives. 

Our goal is to make it easier for Black people with lived experience of key issues to build and sustain social enterprises and charitable organisations that solve the problems they had to fight to overcome.

Black-led charities and social enterprises can apply for unrestricted grant support ranging from £1K-£3K which will come with 1 year of support to help them bridge the gap that the COVID crisis created in their organisation’s trajectory while also providing them with access to key experts and peer that can help them grow their work sustainably and effectively in the future. 

We will help grantees:

• Get better informed about their options (moving to new methods of delivery) post-COVID19.
• Develop new enterprising activities and earned income strategies.
• Test the viability of specific propositions.
• Develop clear implementable action plans for such activity.

We are specifically looking for organisations that are creating impact in deprived communities and providing services to people that have been adversely affected by the COVID crisis in terms of their physical health, mental health and/or financially. The beneficiaries of the organisations we fund will primarily be people that identify as Black or Mixed with Black.
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The first round of applications is open throughout August 2020 and funds will be disbursed in Black History Month, October 2020. 

Applications should be made on the Common Call website - www.commoncall.fund ​

​Bayo Adelaja | Chief Do-er | This is how I got here