How we're supporting charities impacted by the riots

We’re immensely saddened to see the violent actions of far-right groups against Muslim, migrant and racially minoritised communities and the charities that are led by and support them.

Following a weekend of violent riots, we reached out to all the charities we partner with who we knew would be most impacted because they are led by or they support racially minoritised or migrant communities.

The responses we got back from charities were harrowing. They told us about the fear their staff, volunteers and people they support faced and the trauma they were forced to relive. But we also saw what we have seen many times over: the strength, compassion and resilience of small charities; adapting rapidly to keep staff, volunteers and the people they support safe.

These charities worked at speed to secure premises, relocate asylum seekers, provide additional safeguarding and mental health support to staff and those they work with, share safety information with people at risk, and shift services online. They showed up and they stuck around, like we’ve seen in past crises.

A third of the charities that we partner with are led by and for racially minoritised communities or specialise in supporting racialised communities, refugees, asylum seekers and survivors of human trafficking. This is by design, and we are proud of this.

Too many people experience injustice because of who they are or where they’re from. Systemic racism, decisions made by those with power, and negative representation in media are making life much harder for migrant, Muslim and racialised communities. This is especially true for people who also experience complex issues that don’t have simple solutions like domestic abuse, homelessness, or substance misuse. As a funder, we exist to tackle inequity and build a more just and compassionate society, that is why we’ve committed to supporting charities working with racialised communities and migrants.

We are not afraid to stand by the side of communities facing injustice by using our voice, resources and power as a funder. We’ve spoken out when people have challenged our support for racially minoritised communities and refugees and asylum seekers. And we will continue to stand firmly by communities facing injustice.

The charities we partner with who are led by and for racially minoritised communities and those that support migrants have incurred additional costs in responding to the racist, Islamophobic, anti-migrant attacks. These are charities who are already under pressure, under funded, and under resourced.

Therefore, in the days following the riots, we looked at how we could best support our charity partners. We wrote to 162 charities we currently support to inform them we will be making an unrestricted payment of £2,500 to contribute to their unforeseen costs. We selected these charities because they would be most acutely impacted by the riots and their aftermath.

Making decisions on where to direct funding is always difficult. That is why we’ve prioritised providing this extra support to our charity partners who have had to make their own difficult decisions about where to reprioritise their income. This includes all charities across our funding portfolio that are led by and for racialised communities and charities whose core focus is supporting racially minoritised communities, refugees and asylum seekers, and survivors of trafficking and modern slavery.

Alongside these additional grants, we are continuing to speak with charities to support them, learn from them, and stand alongside them. We will continue to champion unrestricted, multi-year funding and development support because we know how important this is in helping charities to respond and adapt to crises.

Recognising that the root causes that led to this violence have not gone away, in the weeks and months that follow we’ll be exploring what more we can do in the medium and longer term. We’ll be listening to charities and continue working in partnership with people, charities and communities to tackle injustice.