Comic Relief have just announced they’ve distributed over £3.4m of funding to BAME focussed charities. This is the first time the charity has distributed funds specifically to the BAME sector.

Each of the ten organisations they’ve identified will receive between £275,000 and £440,000 to be used to help smaller organisations under their purview affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Of that £3.4m, £650,000 of it will be provided directly by Comic Relief, whilst the rest will come from the National Emergencies Trust.

Some of the not-for-profits to receive the £3.4m will be Next Step, who help both train and support African communities in Scotland and Sporting Equals, an organisation dedicated to promoting more ethnic diversity across sports.

BAME-led organisations have been specifically targeted to distribute the funding as we want to help small and micro projects and believe these organisations have specialist expertise.

Small local projects can provide a lifeline to the vulnerable people they work with in communities

Comic Relief spokesperson

At the same time, Comic Relief have launched another £9m initiative called Change Makers.

Change Makers was created to provide funding for non-profit organisations looking to pivot post COVID-19, either socially or structurally to aid in addressing any long-term impacts the pandemic has caused.

Of that £9m, it’s thought at least 20% will be targeted at BAME-led organisations.

The disproportionate effect of Covid-19 on black and Asian communities has been truly devastating. Smaller projects that work within these communities have also been adversely affected after many years of neglect, with many at risk of closure. Our ring-fenced funding aims to directly address these inequalities and empower BAME-led organisations with specialist expertise to reach and support grass-roots local projects that are a lifeline to the people they help.

Jacqueline Onalo – Trustee, Comic Relief

The ten BAME led not-for-profits will then further distribute the funds across a series of micro projects that will include health, domestic abuse, sports and legal services, gender and racial equality and family support.

Each of the organisations will be in charge of the criteria for distributing the money according to their own local priorities.

This pandemic has laid bare the extent of health inequalities entrenched within our social systems and faced by BAME communities and organisations. As well as responding to some of the immediate acute needs within the community, we hope that the funding will also help to build strength and resilience during this time of change.