Open call for Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2024 – UK

The Windrush Day Grant Scheme 2024 will focus on bringing communities together – across different ages and ethnic backgrounds – to commemorate, celebrate and educate their local area about the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants across the United Kingdom.

Aims

• They are looking for projects to focus primarily on at least one of the overarching aims of the Windrush Day Grant Scheme, as follows:
  • To educate people about the Windrush story. Projects will build awareness of historical facts and deepen understanding about the Windrush generation and their descendants. This includes the pioneers who arrived on the MV Empire Windrush in 1948, and those who came on vessels and planes in the decades afterwards.
  • To foster a greater sense of national pride and recognition of the historic and ongoing contributions made by the Windrush generation and their descendants to UK society. The Windrush generation and their descendants have contributed a great deal to society over more than 7 decades. The scheme invites proposals for projects that proactively support and enable people from different backgrounds to embrace this aspect of the shared history.
  • To develop the skills and entrepreneurial ambitions of young people. To inspire the next generation of young leaders to learn new skills to encourage them to pursue their aspirations and contribute to the social capital of society in the UK.
  • To celebrate and commemorate the continued contributions of the Windrush generation to the UK. They want projects to commemorate and recognise how much the Windrush generation and their descendants have brought to and done for the UK.
• In addition, all proposals should have the following aim:
  • To be community-led and have a positive social impact. They want projects to be developed by, or with, the Windrush generation and their descendants, and for organisations to carefully consider how the project will create a positive social impact in their local area, helping to galvanise communities to work together to embrace positive aspects of their shared identity.
• Local councils in England and Northern Ireland are eligible to apply. Where proposals are led by local councils, they will be looking for a clear demonstration that the proposal has been developed with the Windrush generation and their descendants, and local community organisations.

Funding Information

• For the 2024 iteration of the Windrush Day Grant Scheme, DLUHC is providing a total of £500,000 to fund activities across England and Northern Ireland.
• The minimum amount available for each project is £5,000 and the maximum is £50,000. This year, there are 2 tiers of funding:
  • Tier 1: smaller projects, of a value between £5,000 and £24,999
  • Tier 2: larger projects, of a value between £25,000 and £50,000

Outcomes

They will be looking for projects that achieve all the following 3 outcomes of the Windrush Day Grant Scheme:

• Greater community cohesion: Projects should encourage communities to work together across generational and social divides. The Windrush generation and their descendants live and work in communities around the UK, and events and activities should engage with them, as well as with those from different age groups and ethnic backgrounds
• Have a lasting impact beyond the funding period: Projects should be designed so that they continue to have an impact after the funding period has ended. This could be achieved through forming new local partnerships or producing assets that can continue to be shared in the future, such as videos and stories from elders
• Increased acknowledgement of the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants: Projects should better enable education about the Windrush generation’s contributions to the society in the UK, as well as wider contributions made by their descendants to UK communities

Activities

• Project events and activities taking place after 22 June 2024 must do one or more of the following:
  • Clearly demonstrate how a proposal can help build community cohesion between people of different age groups and ethnic backgrounds
  • Have a lasting social impact beyond the funding period
  • Help develop the educational and entrepreneurial skills of young people across this period
• Proposals could be designed to fund activities such as the following illustrative examples (please note that this list is not exhaustive – they encourage innovation provided that the aims of the scheme are met):
  • Bring together local partners and communities to create a unique project
  • Run a scheme that supports young people to improve their academic, vocational or entrepreneurial skills – and demonstrate how the scheme has made an impact
  • Deliver a high-quality artistic performance or series of performances that celebrate the Windrush legacy
  • Run novel activities in partnership with local schools, for example, through assemblies, workshops, educational trips and project work

Eligibility Criteria

• Organisations are eligible to apply if:
  • They are registered:
    • Charities
    • Exempt charities
    • Community Interest companies/Community Interest organisations
    • Social enterprises
    • Community benefit societies
  • They meet all the following criteria as demonstrated by submitting additional supporting documents:
    • They are established for charitable, benevolent or philanthropic purposes
    • They have a governing body with at least 3 members
    • They have a governing document which they can produce
    • They can provide accounts demonstrating good financial health across both of the last 2 financial years
• Your project bid must:
  • Include a lead event or activity on National Windrush Day, 22 June 2024. Events and activities must take place within the 10-week period of 8 June 2024 to 31 August 2024, provided that projects can focus on one or more of the following aims:
    • Help build community cohesion between people of different age groups and ethnic backgrounds.
    • Have a lasting social impact beyond the funding period.
    • Help develop the educational and entrepreneurial skills of young people.
  • Seek no less than £5000 and no more than £50,000, and provide details of other funding secured, subject to the relevant tier of funding applied for.
  • Be based in England and Northern Ireland
  • Not make a profit from activities. Organisations should be mindful of the staffing costs associated with their project and make efforts to limit how much of their allocated grant funding is used for this purpose

For more information, visit DLUHC.