User-led organisations – information, funding, resources

5 July 2023

Welcome to our user-led groups page. We list user-led organisations on our website, but this post is for funding opportunities and useful information, as well as welcoming any new additions to our listings.

If you would like to be listed on our website then please get in touch and join our free inclusive involvement community with over 1000 people and over 320 user-led groups.

Funding opportunities

• The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has a £76m community organisations cost of living fund, for those who are struggling to meet increased demand for their services and increased delivery costs. Apply by 16th October 2023.
• The Community Action for Partnerships in Health has grants available to London organisations working on engagement with communities to impact health inequalities. Deadline: 11th August 2023
• The Edward Gostling Foundation offers grants across 4 themes – health and wellbeing, independent living, respite, and transition. Applications ongoing.
• Lloyds Bank Foundation has launched a new fund for deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations. Deadline to apply is 31st August 2023.
• Henry Smith Improving Lives programme gives grants to those that help people when other sources of support aren’t available. Ongoing applications.
• The People’s Postcode Lottery grants funding rounds open at 10am on 4th September, each for a minimum of 24 hours.
• The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund, for organisations in England who need more than £10k for supporting their communities. Ongoing applications.
• The Clothworker’s Foundation provides capital grants to charities and non-profits, which can cover things like vehicles, buildings, computers, and websites.
• The Leatherseller’s Company have a fast-track application process for small unrestricted one-off grants. Applications have various deadlines throughout the year.
• Funding for Disabled People’s Organisations is available from the Together Fund to tackle inequalities in physical activity

Have you checked out the government’s new Find a Grant digital service? They have made it simpler, faster, fairer and free to apply for government grants. So far over 200 schemes – worth over £5.3bn – have already been advertised. Soon all eligible government grants will be advertised here. And, they are working with the devolved administrations and local authorities to offer them the opportunity to advertise on Find a Grant too. From the home page (at the bottom), you can also register for a weekly email to alert you to what new grants have been uploaded over the past 7 days.

Training and events

• Stronger Voices is a free communications training programme for equality organisations and user-led groups based in London. Applications close on 10th September 2023.
• Inclusion London are offering free Disability Equality Training for Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations’ staff and volunteers on the 19th September.
• Equally Ours are offering free strategic communications training, open to London-focused organisations working on poverty, discrimination, multiple disadvantages, inequality and injustice.
• Free Universal Credit training to those who support Disabled people or people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The dates are 16th June, 10th July, 3rd October, and 16th November.
• Catalyst for Change are running a Leaders with Lived Experience Development Programme with FREE good governance training modules aimed at small user-led groups.

English Disabled People’s Organisations National Conference September 2023

Friday 22nd September, 11am – 4pm. At The People’s history Museum in Manchester, and online.

The DPO Forum & ROFA invite Disabled People’s Organisations to a day-long conference of debate, plotting and networking, plus free access to the “Nothing About Us Without Us” landmark exhibition, exploring the history of disabled people’s activism and ongoing fight for rights and inclusion.

The conference will be:

• Launching the DPO General Election manifesto
• Exploring the policy asks we want to see from a new government in its first 100 days
• Refreshing our campaign and influencing skills, tactics and planning, as we enter the crucial pre-General Election lead up
• Exploring what is next for our vision of a national independent living service
• A chance to network, re-connect our organisations and movement, and get inspired by our proud history of organising, resilience and change

The conference will be a fully accessible hybrid event. Book your place now

Useful resources

This section is for resources specifically for or relating to user-led organisations. We have many other resources relating to inclusive involvement and inclusion in our resources section.

Shaping Our Lives resources

• Crisis, Challenge and Change – Reflections from Deaf and Disabled people’s user led organisations about the impact of COVID-19 on their work in 2020.
• The Future of User-led Organisations Event Summary
• The Future of User Led Organisations Briefing

Resources and support from other organisations

• National Survivor User Network have a guide to online event safety and conduct management for user-led groups
• Inclusion London have a report on Understanding the needs of Deaf and Disabled Peoples’ Organisations in England
• Disability Cornwall have recently worked on a project looking at the situation for Disabled People’s Organisations during the pandemic. They have also created a map of Disabled People’s Organisations across the UK.
• The Social Care Institute for Excellence guide on safeguarding for trustees of user-led organisations
• The Social Care Institute for Excellence guide to personalisation for user-led organisations
• Mind’s Jigsaw project on community organisations and the challenges they face
• NSUN’s blog on resourcing user-led work
• Spectrum Centre for Independent Living has a project for User led organisations across Hampshire with advice, training, and support.
• The Public Law Project offers support to frontline advisers on legal issues such as welfare rights.
• The Government has published resources about help for households during the cost of living crisis, you may find these helpful for your service users.
• Funding grassroots mental health work – a report by NSUN on funding for user-led groups
• Free to access fuel rights handbook by the Child Poverty Action Group is a must-have resource for advising people during this energy and cost of living crisis

Got funding opportunities, events or resources to add to this section? Get in touch with us on hello@shapingourlives-dev.autonomic.zone and don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter.