Rosa is thrilled to announce that 32 organisations led by and for women and girls have received grants of up to £7,000 through Rosa’s Voices from the Frontline fund, which supports campaigning and influencing work that enables women and girls to use their voice to achieve change.
There is a critical need for funding for women’s and girls’ organisations to deliver activism and campaigning, particularly at the grassroots, and to raise awareness of the issues women and girls face. Without the continued efforts of campaigners and activists in the women and girls sector, discrimination, exclusion, cultural and societal barriers will remain.
Among the organisations receiving grants are: Aawaz, an advocacy and support service for women in Lancashire; Girls Rise Up, a mentoring programme for young women; Alliance for Choice, an abortion rights campaigner based in Northern Ireland; BelEve, an education and empowerment service for young Black and minoritised women in London, and; Women’s Equality Network Wales, a women’s rights campaigner tackling gender discrimination.
Jo Smithson, Campaign Manager at Rape and Sexual Abuse Highland, explains:
“It is fantastic to find a fund that promotes activism and the voices of people with lived experience. The funding came at the right time for this group as they had just finished a zine workshop and were full of passion and inspiration about how to continue this work to challenge misogyny and let survivors know they are not alone. As an organisation, the funding means we can help harness that energy and support the empowerment of survivors to use their lived experience to make positive and real change in their communities.”
The fund received considerable interest from applicants this year, with 242 grant requests totalling £1,506,347. This increase in demand has meant that we were unable to offer funding to everyone, but the organisations that were successful will be campaigning on a broad range of issues, including abortion rights, support for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, maternal health care for Black and minoritised women, and better representation for women in politics. Of the 32 organisations funded, 12 (38%) will address issues related to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and 15 (47%) are led by and for Black and minoritised women and girls.
Rosa is delighted to be working in partnership with the Sheila McKechnie Foundation, which will be delivering training and peer learning for all funded organisations.
Rosa would like to thank everyone on the Voices from the Frontline Advisory Panel for their guidance and support in selecting the successful grantees. Thank you also to donors, Trustees, staff, and supporters, without whom this fund would not be possible.
The full list of successful Voices from the Frontline grantees can be found HERE.