Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initative's grants round is now open for application
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund's Grants Round For Community Organisations Working With Children and Young People Seeking Asylum
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund (the Fund) today opens a grants round aimed at supporting community organisations providing direct services or advocacy for young refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK.
Recognising that children and young people seeking sanctuary in the UK are vulnerable and face particular difficulties accessing mainstream services, community organisations working with this group are being invited to apply for funds in order to build an infrastructure of support.
Led by the Fund's Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initiative which is focusing on changing policy to meet international standards on children's rights, this funding scheme will better equip community organisations to conduct advocacy at a local level, which is viewed as crucial for raising awareness and influencing policy makers to take action.
David Farnsworth, Head of the Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initiative says;
"Children and young people who are refugees or seeking asylum in the UK have often experienced trauma, having fled war, torture and persecution. When they seek protection in the UK, lost family, friends and homes are replaced by unfamiliar, sometimes hostile surroundings. By giving grants to community organisations working with these children, the Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initiative is seeking to ensure the best interests of the children and young people are a priority in both policy and practice at all times."
Eligibility Criteria
Organisations who are eligible for a grant must be:
An impartial, legal, community and non-profit making organisation, charity or company;
Working with children and young people under 21 who are refugees or seeking asylum;
Based and operating in one or more of the four countries of the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).
Process
The grants round will have a two stage application process. Stage one is a simple and brief application form. Stage two will be a more detailed application form for projects which are assessed at stage one and go through to the second stage.
The deadline for first stage applications is 12 September 2008. All first stage applications will go through an initial assessment against the criteria for assessing grant applications. The Fund is aiming to let organisations know by mid-October 2008 whether or not they will be invited to submit a second stage application.
First stage application forms and details of how to submit an application can be found on the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund's website, http://www.theworkcontinues.co.uk/apply_for_grant.php. Answers to FAQs can also be found on the Fund's website.
ENDS
Media Enquiries: Effie Blythe, Communications Officer, 020 7902 5509, effie.blythe@memfund.org.uk
Notes to editors
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund continues the Princess's humanitarian work in the UK and overseas. By giving grants to organisations, championing charitable causes, advocacy, campaigning and awareness raising, the Fund works to secure sustainable improvements in the lives of the most vulnerable people in the UK and around the world.
The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund has given approximately £7 million to organisations working with young refugees and people seeking asylum since it was established in September 1997. Ten years after the Princess's death, the Refugee and Asylum Seekers Initiative was set up with a core focus of ensuring that the UK's treatment of children seeking asylum meets international standards on children's rights. Visit www.theworkcontinues.org.uk
04/07/2008
back to top