Open Funding
Local work centring Black African and Caribbean knowledge, research, education and advocacy to advance health equity in the local food system.
Over the next two years, we will distribute circa £450k of grant funding. To test the approach we’ll start this journey with £80k in grants. Max £20k per grant. Max 1 year* per grant. Deadline: 11:00am Weds 10 July 2024.
Note: Our 1-year maximum aligns with the length of our current funding which runs until December 2025. We’ll be aiming to raise more money to continue this work.
Why.
Black people deserve health equity and food justice.
Our current local food system is inequitable;
access to healthy food is a luxury.
our African and Caribbean food cultures aren't centred.
health food products, policy and practice are often Eurocentric.
Knowledge, research, education and advocacy are important drivers of the change in our local area. They help to influence communities, businesses, funders and policymakers across Lambeth and Southwark. We want to ensure Black realities are centred in this type of work. Making sure action and change across the boroughs drive toward Black food equity and health.
Examples.
We’re open to funding any local work that centres Black African and Caribbean knowledge, research, education and advocacy to advance health equity in the local food system.
Examples of what we’d love to contribute to:
Community-led data, insights and research projects.
PhDs for Black people exploring African and Caribbean nutritional epidemiology.
Decolonialised food education programmes and convenings.
African and Caribbean healthy food standards and supply chain quality management.
Investments in parent-school food boards and parental advocacy.
Each grant can be for a maximum of £20k over a maximum of 1 year.
Who can apply.
To apply we ask that you are:
centring Black African and/or Caribbean knowledge, research, cultures and traditions
living, working or doing a lot of work within Lambeth and/or Southwark.
deeply embedded in local Black communities.
invested in supporting local food equity and health over the long term.
Black-led, meaning 75% of the leadership team and decision-makers are:
Black African
Black British
Black Caribbean
or of Mixed Black Ethnicity.
Who is eligible.
We welcome applications from anyone named in the ‘who can apply’ section.
Within this we are not able to fund anyone:
working at or who is currently a trustee for Impact on Urban Health.
sitting on the Black Food Fund committee.
related to any member of the Black Food Fund committee.
related to the Black Food Fund fiscal host (currently Hello Brave and its subcontractors).
who would receive private financial gain from this funding that surpasses or is unrelated to the public benefit or impact.
who cannot be paid this funding into or does not have a UK bank account.
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Please note: you do not need to have a company or charity or CiC to apply. You only need to agree to pay any eligible taxes to HMRC.
How will decisions be made.
Decisions about who’ll receive funding will be made by the Black Food Fund committee. They will review all expressions of interest. When shortlisting we’ll be looking for evidence:
that there is a strong fit with what we want to fund.
that you're embedded in local Black communities.
that you have relevant experience and/or expertise.
that you have a long-term vision for your role in this work.
During the shortlisting phase, each answer will be scored between 1 and 5. Scoring 1 would mean we couldn’t see any evidence. Scoring 5 would mean we could see a lot. Those scoring the highest will be considered. We’ll then make the final decision about who to invite based on the interest and agreement of the group.
The process and timelines.
👉🏾 Submit an expression of interest.
Tell us about what you want to use the funding for, how it fits with what we’d like to fund, your relationships with Black communities and your long-term vision for your role in food equity across Lambeth and Southwark.
By: 11:00am Weds, 10 July 2024.
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👉🏾 Find out if you’ve been shortlisted.
The committee will meet to shortlist applications using the eligibility criteria, clarity and evidence of fit in your expression of interest. You’ll find out if you’ve been successful and be invited to submit a funding proposal.
By: 11:00am Mon, 22 July 2024.
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👉🏾 Develop your funding proposal.
You’ll then put together your funding proposal. You will be able to talk to the committee and get feedback ahead of formally discussing your proposal with the committee.
From: Mon, 22 July 2024 to Mon, 2 September 2024.
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👉🏾 Discuss proposal with the committee.
You’ll meet with the whole committee, ideally in person, to share your proposal and discuss any questions you and we might have.
Ideally on either 9 September or 13 September.
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👉🏾 Hear if you've been funded.
The committee will meet to decide on which proposals they would like to fund based on the discussions they had with shortlisted applicants.
By 5pm Fri, 20 September 2024.
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👉🏾 Get contracted and receive your funding. (ASAP)
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👉🏾 Stay connected and share your progress. (TBC)
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PLEASE NOTE: The committee are still designing refining process and so some things detailed here may change. We’ll share more detail about the proposal process will be shared when you are shortlisted.
Get In Touch.
If you have any feedback or a question we haven’t answered please contact Tayo and Bella at hello@blackfood.fund. We’ll add any additional Q&A to the website.
If you have something you’d like us to fund, that doesn’t fit in this Open Funding Call, please let us know here. This will inform the next round of funding.