About the Fund
Borne out of BRK Ujima’s commitment to an ethics of care, we have established the Give Black Fund. The aim of the fund is to ensure the underrepresented communities we care about, particularly the Black community, receive direct benefit from the consulting work we do. Before we sign agreements with our clients, we ask them to consider a voluntary donation (10% of project fees excl. VAT) to BRK Ujima which we reinvest into the community. It is as a result of these donations that we are able to provide small grants to Black-led organisations/groups.
Funding Available
BRK Ujima intends to award a total of £600 to two organisations: each organisation receiving £300.
Key Dates
- Applications Open: Monday 4th July 2022
- Applications Close: Friday 5th August 2022
- All applicants notified of outcome: Friday 26th August 2022
Funding Theme: Black Joy
Black joy is about resisting limitations placed on Blackness; to counter the narrative Blackness can only be defined by hardship and suffering. It is not about ignoring the realities of the oppressive nature of white supremacy. Instead, it is about honouring our whole selves, as people, with agency and the ability to simultaneously experience a multitude of emotions, including joy. Especially joy because white supremacy has been relentless in denying us our right to be joyful. BRK Ujima, through its Give Black Fund seeks to support UK-based Black-led organisations/groups to actively prioritise and undertake activities that enable Black joy.
Eligibility Criteria
Organisations or groups wishing to apply for a grant must meet ALL of the following conditions:
- Be a Black-led registered or unregistered organisation or group (i.e., a minimum of 70% of the board of trustees and at least 51% of senior staff identify as Black)
- Be based in the United Kingdom
- Work with/for/alongside UK-based community members who identify as Black
- Have a bank account in your organisation/group’s name
- Funding should be for a one-off activity and not running/operational costs.
Application Process
All submissions must be made via this Google Form to be considered valid, unless extenuating circumstances apply. The form is divided into the following three sections.
Confirmation and Consent: At the very start of the form, we ask you to confirm that you have read and meet the eligibility criteria and that you have read BRK Ujima’s privacy policy and consent to the use and storage of your data as outlined in our privacy policy.
About you and your organisation/group: Tells us about:
- The history of your organisation/group.
- The size of your organisation/group.
- How your organisation or group is structured/organised.
- The communities/people you work with/for and how benefit from the work your organisation/group does.
About the project/activities: We want to know all about the project/activities you seek funding for; in particular:
- Who is the project for?
- How does your project fit into the Black joy theme?
- How much will the project/activity cost?
- Is it part-funded, and if so, how much and has that funding been secured?
- Timescale and start/end dates. Ideally, BRK Ujima would like the project to be completed within three (3) months of the grant being awarded.
Evaluation and Grant Award
BRK Ujima has prepared an evaluation rubric to guide the grant evaluation stage. Based on this rubric, the two organisations with the highest score out of 30 will be awarded the grant. The rubric is available to view here.
Reporting and Accountability
Grant recipients will be required to submit a short report once the project has concluded.
Grant recipients will also be required to submit documentary evidence such as receipts, photographs, beneficiary testimonies, etc. to evidence execution of project activities. Where these submissions are photographs or testimonies, BRK Ujima reserves the right to use this information on our website for promotional purposes.
Specific details, including any deadlines, will be shared once the grants have been awarded.
More information
We are happy to respond to any queries; please send an email to theteam@brkujima.com or use our contact form. We ask that you contact us as soon as possible and no later than Friday 22nd July 2022 so that we have sufficient time to respond to any queries ahead of the grant application submission deadline.