Grants are at the heart of what LCRF does. We do not work directly with refugees and asylum seekers but we make small grants to support the front line charities who do. Typically, our grants are used for hardship funds to buy travel cards, phone top-ups, food, hygiene packs or to help with English language classes.
Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
In 2020 the Fund received £34,502 in donations. With Gift Aid, interest and the sale of Christmas cards, our total income was £42,437. We made grants of £36,353 (our highest-ever figure, up 7% on 2019) and incurred just £1,033 in overheads - most of which relates to the printing of cards. That left us with a surplus of £5,051 on the year.
In 2020 we helped the 29 different organisations listed on the right by making 45 grants of up to £850. Grants are capped by the funds we have available at the time of the awards.
In the rare cases when we reject an application it is normally because it is not felt to contribute directly to the relief of destitution among refugees and asylum seekers in London.
Organisations we supported in 2020:
Action for Refugees in Lewisham
African Refugee Community
All People All Places
Waging Peace (formerly Article 1 Charitable Trust)
Asylum from Rape
Barnet Refugee Service
C4WS Homeless Project
Citizens of the World Choir
Cotton Tree
Croydon Refugee Day Centre
Freedom from Torture
Hackney Migrant Centre
Happy Baby Community
Housing Justice
Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants
Jesuit Refugee Service
Jewish Council for Racial Equality (JCORE)
Lewisham Refugee and Migrant Network
London Catholic Worker - Refugee Shelter
London Jesus Centre
Migrants Organise
Migrateful
New North London Synagogue Destitute Asylum Seekers Drop-In
Notre Dame Refugee Centre
Refugee Council
Room to Heal
Samphire
Streatham Drop-In Centre
West London Welcome
How to apply
Please note that LCRF is a ‘small grants’ fund with typical awards between £300 - £1,000 each round, payable to charities / organisations (we do not pay money direct to individuals).
For Autumn 2021 applications, the maximum grant you can apply for is £1,000. As before, applications may be scaled back if resources are insufficient. The Fund’s Objects require us to support only work with destitute refugees and asylum-seekers in the London area.
Please download and read the Guidance Notes and Terms & Conditions carefully before completing your downloaded application form.
Round 31 (Autumn 2021) closed for submissions on Friday 29th October. Check back in March for Round 32 (Spring 2022).
Applications should be emailed to [email protected], as shown also on the form.
Dear Friend
On behalf of the London Churches Refugee Fund, I am pleased to invite organisations to apply for funds to support your work with asylum seekers and refugees. All applications must be made on the form that you can download from this site, and in accordance with our Terms & Conditions.
The Trustees are appreciative of the hugely difficult but valuable work that charities and community groups continue to perform and hope that the Fund will develop in such a way that it becomes a constant and reliable source of support.
With every good wish,
Revd Chris Brice
Chair of Trustees