Comic Relief: UK Main Fund

Overview

Our approach is designed to be flexible and responsive to the organisations we support. We want to tackle pressing issues and work with communities in ways that are most effective.

Each theme is described in more detail through a number of outcomes or the change we hope to see. Organisations need to meet at least one outcome within their chosen theme. We know that there will always be more great work from passionate organisations than we could ever fund. Therefore, we’ve set a small number of priorities to guide applicants and help us select those which are most relevant to us. Please read our UK Themes (PDF) for more information.

Better Futures

..Improving vulnerable young people’s lives

We aim to focus on vulnerable young people in the UK who are experiencing issues such as extreme levels of hardship within their community or family, poor mental health, drug or alcohol use or homelessness.

We want to invest in organisations working with these vulnerable young people, aged 11-24, to develop their social and emotional capabilities, including confidence, resilience, problem-solving and positive relationships. This includes work that creates the foundations for healthy, safer and more secure lifestyles, better employment opportunities and successful transitions from adolescence into adulthood.

Our funding will support young people in a holistic way and initiatives led by young people themselves are especially welcome.

All work must demonstrate how it meets one or more of the following outcomes:

• Young people lead less chaotic lives and engage in less harmful lifestyles
• Young people recover, cope and thrive in the face of severe personal, family and social adversity
• Young people progress into employment, enterprise, training and education opportunities

Healthier Finances

..tackling financial poverty

Enabling people to feel comfortable and confident in managing their money, through opportunities to access appropriate financial services and products, is important in every community. Building financial literacy and capability within poorer areas, and for people in low income jobs, is vital if they’re to avoid the high costs of operating a ‘cash economy’ and paying a premium for goods and services which they can least afford.

We want to support people to develop money management skills, to maximise their income, and avoid debt and costly credit wherever possible. We also aim to support the development of affordable credit and financial services.

All work must demonstrate how it meets one or more of the following outcomes:

• People in severe financial hardship increase their financial literacy, reduce their debt and maximise their income
• People who are financially excluded can access affordable credit and financial services

Safer Lives

...reducing violence, abuse and exploitation

We want to empower people to avoid harmful situations, provide specialist support to those in need and tackle the root causes of the problems we seek to address.

All work must demonstrate how it meets one or more of the following outcomes:

• People avoid entering harmful and risky situations
• People experience less harm from past or present violence, abuse and exploitation
• More people leave violent, abusive and exploitative situations

Stronger Communities

Thriving communities are those where people have pride in the area in which they live, feel safe and look out for others in their neighbourhood. They are places where everyone is valued and has the ability to participate and contribute. However, the challenge for some communities is made more difficult because of poverty, enduring deprivation, poor housing, higher crime rates and generational unemployment. This theme aims to strengthen local communities through making small grants of up to £10,000 to small, locally based groups or organisations in areas of disadvantage that have a clear understanding of the needs of their community and are undertaking actions as a means of addressing these needs.

These grants are delivered in partnership with UK Community Foundations which has strong local networks and expertise.

Fairer Society

...ensuring people overcome inequality

People in more equal societies live longer, have better mental health and better chances for a good education, regardless of their background. Community life is stronger where there is greater equality; children do better and are less likely to become vulnerable teenage parents. There are strong links between equality and building trust; there is also less violence, less crime and greater social cohesion.

We want to support marginalised groups of people to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives as well as groups tackling some of the root causes of injustice by working together towards a fairer society. While we may fund some national initiatives, much of the work towards a fairer society will be at a ‘grassroots’ community level.

We’re interested in working with groups that are campaigning and/or delivering collective advocacy towards the overall outcomes. We cannot fund projects providing individual advocacy.

All work must demonstrate how it meets one or more of the following outcomes:

• People from marginalised groups engage with and influence decision makers and hold them to account
• People from marginalised groups are subject to less discrimination from public attitudes, laws, policies or services