2021 sees the start of a new an exciting project. Women’s Resource Centre (WRC) and the Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) have been awarded Comic Relief’s Global Majority Fund. 

With the Global Majority Fund, WRC and BTEG will support small, grassroots organisations, led by and for Black and minoritised women that provide life-changing and often life-saving services. These specialist organisations are best placed to meet the needs of the women they exist to support. 

What is the Global Majority Fund?

The Global Majority Fund is a partnership between Comic Relief, the National Emergencies Trust, The Clothworkers' Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn and Barclays, dedicated to furthering Covid-19 response work with communities experiencing racial inequality.

10 specialist charities have been awarded a share of a new £2.8million fund which is set to help hundreds of smaller grass roots projects across the UK that provide vital services to diverse communities at the greatest risk of Covid-19.

Why this project and why now?

Covid-19 has had a devastating and disproportionate effect on Black and minoritised women and the organisations who support them. Public Health England found Black women are: diagnosed at over twice the rate of white women; 5 times more likely to be hospitalised; over 3 times more likely to die in hospital. In addition to existing health inequalities, Black and minoritised women are over-exposed and under-protected from Covid-19. It is specialist, led by and for women’s organisations that continue to protect these women and that work to end the structural inequality and discrimination they face.

Why WRC and BTEG?

WRC is the leading national umbrella organisation for the women’s sector. As a specialist infrastructure organisation, WRC is unique in that it is non-issue based. This means that rather than being focussed on a single issue, we have a birds-eye view on women’s equality, which includes all aspects of women’s rights from personal to structural levels. This places WRC in a distinctive and valuable position to be able to consider and analyse all aspects of women’s lives, from economics, health and policy to VAWG, leadership and movement building.

Through strategic advocacy, campaigning, training, events and by creating and maintaining successful partnerships and collaborations, WRC aims to be a voice to the most marginalised and disadvantaged organisations and is working towards transformational and substantive equality for women.

Supporting and facilitating the London VAWG Consortium is a corner-stone of WRC’s work, and epitomises the organisation’s approach to partnerships and collaboration. In its third year, WRC’s hugely popular Feminist Leadership programme continues to bring women from across the sector and across the country together to explore what it means to be a leader. WRC has also created the Network for Black Women Leaders, a space that encourages and empowers women of the African diaspora and women of African descent who aspire to grow and strengthen their individual distinctive leadership style.

BTEG is a national charity based in London, working across the public, private and voluntary sectors to champion national and local action to reduce racial inequalities for ethnic minority young people for the past 25 years. BTEG has considerable experience of developing and delivering grant distribution schemes that are robust, fair and equitable.

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Dionne Nelson, Deputy CEO of WRC says:

“We’re thrilled to be able to support the Black and minoritised led-by and for women’s sector (charities and groups predominately working with women) who have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, particularly at a time when their services are in greatest demand. Assisting organisations to retain staff is crucial for them to deliver critical services”

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WRC’s broad network and deep insight into women’s needs together with BTEG’s grant-making experience with a race equity lens, ideally places us to deliver this work.

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Project so far:

June 2021: We launched the Black & Minoritised Women's Fund, opening round 1 for applications. Black & minoritised led by and for women's organisations were able to apply for a £5,000 grant towards core funds. 

August 2021: We announce the Round 1 grant partners. You can read about them here.

September 2021: Applications for £10,000 grants opened

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Read the press release: 

Women’s Resource Centre and Black Training and Enterprise Group awarded Comic Relief’s Global Majority Fund