“In his work... he showed an absolute faith and sincerity which was never shaken, and his deep concern for the individual meant that much of this time was spent in visiting or helping people in trouble.”

Dr Kenneth Southall speaking about his father, Wilfred Southall

Social Action

This broad category heading is sub-divided into five focus areas, outlined below. Successful projects will fit within at least one of these areas:

1. Poverty-related disadvantage

Applications within this sub-category should be from organisations that are tackling the underlying causes of financial poverty. Examples might include projects that provide financial and vocational training, employment, long-term secure and stable housing, and/or projects that tackle social injustices and inequality.

Please note that we rarely give grants to organisations that are focussed upon emergency relief (e.g. foodbanks, fuelbanks and emergency accommodation). Also, we rarely fund charities that provide statutory services (e.g. adult social care, children’s services and general education) and we do not provide replacement funding where statutory support has been withdrawn. 

2. Human rights and equality

Within this sub-category we are currently most interested in receiving applications from causes that are helping refugees and asylum seekers to integrate within UK communities

3. The rehabilitation of offenders

4. Freedom from addiction and substance abuse

5. Building community

Within this sub-category we are looking for applications that can demonstrate the bringing together of disparate and otherwise disconnected groups to form peaceful communities. More specifically, successful applications will be from those who are bringing together people from different faith groups, people from different ethnic groups and backgrounds, people from different socio-economic backgrounds and/or people with differing political views. Applications that focus on just one demographic (e.g. youth clubs) and that do not explain the benefit of the project within the wider community are often unsuccessful

Typically, we favour causes that are community-focused, make good use of volunteers, meet a tangible need and are well-connected and well-regarded within their locality.

Some examples of recent grants are listed below:

SUB-CATEGORYCHARITY NAMEPROJECTAMOUNT GRANTEDYEAR OF AWARD
AddicitionSurrey Drug & Alcohol CareSupport for a telephone counselling service addressing individuals' problems with drugs/alcohol through a programme of counselling sessions with a professional specialist.£3,0002019
AddicitionOutside Edge Theatre CompanySupport for 'Wellbeing Drama Taster Sessions' in London drug and alcohol treatment facilities.£5,0002020
CommunitySTAA AllotmentsSupport for monthly Open Days for everyone in the diverse community of St Ann's, especially local families, to offer respite and enjoyment and to build community cohesion.£3,0002022
CommunityHouse on the Corner Community ProjectSupport for weekly activities for all age groups to help people avoid social exclusion and build self esteem.£2,5002022
CommunityPecanSupport for HOurBank; a skills sharing project which connects people's needs with another's skills thus encouraging community cohesion and supporting isolated.£5,0002019
CommunityFeast Youth ProjectSupport for the establishment of a 'Dialogue Hub' that will provide training and resources across the UK to help teenagers to bridge social divides and live well with difference.£5,0002019
CommunitySheffield Methodist DistrictSupport for 'Safe Space Dialogue' activity with communities in South Yorkshire, to counter narratives which are sources of tension, and help people live together better with difference.£5,0002022
Human RightsDoncaster Conversation ClubSupport to continue a programme of activities for asylum seekers and refugees living in Doncaster with the aim of promoting and maintaining their physical and mental health.£2,4002019
Human RightsAberaidSupport for an Arabic language teacher for Syrian Refugee children in Aberystwyth, so that children can integrate within Wales while continuing Arabic, to stay connected with family.£2,0002019
Human RightsTogether We Grow (via the Community Foundation for Calderdale)Support for leisure activities for asylum seekers in the UK, including a Summer holiday visit to Fleetwood.£5,0002020
Human RightsDestitution ProjectSupport for work with asylum seekers and refugees in Bolton.£1,0002019
Human RightsNottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee ForumSupport for work with asylum seekers and refugees in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.£3,0002019
Human RightsHackney Migrant CentreSupport for a weekly drop-in service for refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants in need: offering free legal and welfare advice and longer-term casework.£1,0002019
Human RightsBirmingham Churches TogetherSupport for a one-to-one befriending scheme that links trained volunteers to asylum seekers and refugees.£3,0002019
Human RightsRefugee Info BusSupport to maintain and expand legal information, phone charging and Wifi service for refugees trying to reach the UK from Calais and Dunkirk.£2,0002020
Human RightsHope at HomeSupport for the recruitment of new 'hosts' and associated costs to free people from slavery and human trafficking.£4,3002020
PovertyScholarships for Street Kids (S4SK)Support for non-formal education classes for out-of-school-and-working children from deprived families in Myanmar.£4,8542019
PovertyTraidcraft ExchangeSupport to train disability-inclusive groups in the use of environmentally sustainable approaches to livelihood ventures.£3,0002019
PovertySalt of the EarthSupport for a short stay Women's Refuge facility to house and support women in crisis from domestic violence.£3,0002019
PovertyAdAmi ProjectSupport for young mothers in Sierra Leone to return to education, formal and vocational.£3,0002019
PovertyAfrican InitiativesSupport for anonymous HIV testing for pupils and their parents, including transport, sanitary materials, testing kits and counsellors£1,3002019
PovertySaltboxSupport to cover volunteer costs for the Money Matters project, working with Foodbanks in Stoke-on-Trent to alleviate poverty-related problems£3,0002019
PovertyWater HarvestSupport to provide clean water for poverty-stricken areas in India.£3,0002019
PovertyCecily's FundSupport for Peer Health Educators, who are orphans that have been funded through school by Cecily's Fund.£2,0002019
PovertyMakhad TrustSupport for the restoration of two wells bringing drinking water to communities and families.£3,0002019
PovertyBonny Downs Community AssociationSupport to run a weekly face-to-face debt advice service in Newham.£2,9002019
PovertyKids Club KampalaSupport towards the running of a vocational Carpentry Training Project in the slums of Kampala.£3,0002019
PovertyNepal Youth Foundation UKSupport for children in Nepal who have been abandoned or orphaned.£3,0002019
PovertyDown Syndrome InternationalSupport to help the Rwanda Down Syndrome Organisation (RDSO) to develop activities and improve financial sustainability.£3,0002019
PovertyChildren of RwandaSupport to give more children and families improved access to education and health care.£3,0002019
PovertyChildren in Need IndiaSupport for a project focused on working with tea plantation communities to ensure women and children have access to healthcare, nutritional support and education. £3,0002019
PovertyAfrican OutreachSupport to improve the livelihoods of poor and disadvantaged young people in Liberia, though an accredited vocational, education, training and internship programme. £3,0002019
PovertyKids Aid TanzaniaSupport towards the establishment of a chicken farm, the profits from which will enable children to go to, and remain at school.£3,0002019
PovertyTushinde Children's TrustSupport to run a schools outreach programme in a Nairobi slum.£2,6702019
PovertyFresh StartSupport to set up a community kitchen, garden, thrift shop, community fridge/larder to support individuals and families in an area of multiple deprivation.£3,0002019
PovertyChild of HopeSupport to provide extra food supplements and medicines to slum children to improve access to life and education chances.£3,0002019
PovertyCHASE AfricaSupport to improve access to family planning information and services in marginalised rural communities of Kenya.£3,0002019
Povertyre:work ltdSupport towards running costs, to enable services to continue to run while key staff work to improve the charity's sustainability.£5,0002019
PovertyZambia Orphans Aid UKSupport to enable orphans and vulnerable children to go to school and to provide nutritional support to families who are fostering such children.£3,0002019
PovertySecond SightSupport for cataract operations at the MHKS hospital in Bihar, India.£10,0002019
PovertyHealth PromSupport to care for women with complications of late pregnancy or who live too far from a health centre to travel to it once they go into labour.£2,0002019
PovertyLivingstone Tanzania TrustSupport to achieve 'water security' at Bambay Primary School.£3,4002019
PovertyMedair UKSupport for work with vulnerable Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon.£3,0002019
PovertyFareShare YorkshireSupport to provide cool boxes so that more charities and community groups can collect surplus food each week£2,7752020
PovertyBaynards Zambia TrustSupport to source and sell sanitary products to eliminate period poverty.£3,0002020
PovertyPeasholme CharitySupport for 'My Money. My Life.' - a financial capability advice and support project, one-to-one coaching and community drop-in activities. £4,5002020
PovertyOn Call AfricaSupport to deliver healthcare programmes in rural Zambia.£3,0002020
PovertyBASED UK (Baha'I Agency for Social and Economic Development)Support to cover the cost of providing pre-school teacher training sessions in eSwatini with the aim of poverty alleviation.£3,0002020
Rehab of OffendersNehemiah ProjectSupport for core costs for supporting addicts and/or prison leavers who face homelessness.£2,0002019
Rehab of OffendersForgiveness ProjectSupport for the delivery of the RESTORE project at women's prison HMP Eastwood Park, Gloucestershire.£3,0002019
Rehab of OffendersCreate (Arts) LimitedSupport for the delivery of Inside Stories with 12-16 prisoners at HMP Oakwood in 2019/20, enabling them to write, record and illustrate original stories for the children in their lives.£4,7092019
Rehab of OffendersAlternatives to Violence ProjectSupport to fund the enrolment of prisoners onto the AVP distance learning course.£2,0002020
Rehab of OffendersWest Yorks Community Chaplaincy ProjectSupport to empower ex-prisoners to break the cycle of re-offending and resettle positively in the community£5,0002020