Background

The Violence Against Women and Girls Grassroots Fund is provided by the and administered by London Community Foundation. This fund aims to support the mayor's commitments to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). Three-year grants of up to £150,000 (£50,000 per year) are available (up to £180,000 for partnership applications). The deadline for applications is 4 November 2026.

Objectives of Fund

This fund aims to support the mayor's commitments to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) and achieve the following objectives:

• Support survivors to recover, gain independence and address the multiple issues they may face through sustained access to specialist services.
• Increase the accessibility of specialist grassroots VAWG services for women and girls among London's diverse communities who face barriers to accessing support, including women with no recourse to public funds for whom mainstream provision may not always be appropriate or safely accessible.
• Strengthen the reach of specialist grassroots VAWG services across London that are responsive to communities of protected demographic groups at a grassroots level and can reach survivors across borough boundaries. Particularly where there are gaps in provision and a specialist service may not be commissioned locally due to low density of users.
• Support prevention and early intervention approaches that address the root causes of VAWG and stop further harm and re-victimisation for survivors.
• Support VAWG grassroots organisations to deliver their specialised services, especially those impacted by systemic inequalities.
• Sustain effective interventions by supporting organisations that are facing challenges in continuing service delivery, including maintaining existing services, whilst supporting the stability of grassroots organisations.
• Strengthen the resilience of specialist grassroots VAWG organisations, supporting them to maintain and develop their services in the context of continual changing VAWG sector landscape and an uncertain funding environment.
• Build the capacity of existing grassroots VAWG services to respond to changing needs and an evolving VAWG landscape.
• Facilitate the sharing of good practice across the funded cohort on supporting survivors to experience better outcomes.
• Strengthen funded organisations' capacity to monitor, evaluate and evidence the difference their work makes, while building a robust evidence base of the difference and impact of the Fund.
• Convene collaborative spaces for the funded cohort as a network of experts in services tackling VAWG to build overall sector capacity.
• Amplify the voices of led by and for, and specialist VAWG organisations to raise awareness of the survivor experiences of minoritised and marginalised communities.
• Highlight the value of specialist VAWG organisations by using collective insights to demonstrate their expertise, impact and need.

Grant Values

A total of £5.7 million is available over three years (2027-2030).

Three-year grants of up to £150,000 (£50,000 per year) are available (up to £180,000 for partnership applications).

Who Can Apply

Organisations providing services to address VAWG across London can apply, including:

There is no income threshold for applicants. However, preference will be given to groups with an annual income of less than £500,000.

Priority will be given to organisations that:

• Are led by and for the communities they serve, where the service user group is reflected in staffing management and governance (80% of trustees and staff are from the protected characteristic the organisation works with).
• Have a track record of meeting the diverse needs of the following minoritised and marginalised service users:
• Black women and girls, and women and girls from minority ethnic backgrounds.
• Women and girls with disabilities.
• Neuro-diverse women and girls.
• LGBTQ+ women and girls.
• Young women and girls (under 25 years of age).
• Older women (over 55 years of age).
• Women with no recourse to public funds (NRFF).
• Women involved in prostitution.
• Women and girls involved in modern slavery and human trafficking.
• Can demonstrate a deep understanding of their community needs and context.
• Deliver services that are co-designed with survivors and delivered with survivors.
• Can demonstrate a clear need for organisational investment and how this will strengthen service delivery, accessibility, reach, continuity, and inclusivity of service user engagement.
• Recognise that VAWG is preventable and affects women and girls disproportionately due to unequal power relations.
• Deliver interventions that connect VAWG to wider intersectional inequalities.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma that emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for both organisations and survivors, and that creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment.
• Demonstrate a commitment to collaboration, developing partnerships and active participation in the wider fund programme.

A minimum of 60% of funding will be prioritised for grassroots, specialist organisations for which:

• Ending VAWG is their organisation's priority.
• They can demonstrate they are led by and for black women and girls.
• They can demonstrate they are led by and for women and girls from minority ethnic backgrounds.
• Up to a maximum of 40% of this funding will be awarded to grassroots organisations that are specialist organisations that provide ending VAWG services for other marginalised groups.

Proposed projects should take place between 1 February 2027 and 31 January 2030.

How To Apply

The deadline for applications is 4 November 2026.

Applicants will be notified of any decisions made in the week commencing 18 January 2027.

Guidance notes and an online application are available from the London Community Foundation website:

https://londoncf.org.uk/grants/vawg-grassroots-fund

KVA is only promoting this grant.