Welcome for Newcomers Investing in Welcome support for newcomers to the UK

Grants for organisations and partnerships supporting newcomers to the UK to rebuild their lives, feel at home and become active members of their local communities

‘Welcome’ is the process of support and inclusion that helps newcomers to the UK – by whom we mean refugees, people seeking asylum and other migrants – to settle, navigate and participate in community life. Effective Welcome combines practical and specialist assistance – e.g. with immigration, housing, welfare, mental health – with social and community activities that build trust, connection and a sense of belonging. Activities like cooking and language classes, sports and volunteering also provide trusted entry points for people to access specialist support.

This Fund supports providers of comprehensive Welcome support that enables people to start rebuilding their lives, feel at home and become active members of their local communities.

The aim of the fund is to help strengthen organisations and partnerships that provide this help while also working to influence local conditions for Welcome. This will enable people to get support  and help local communities strengthen cultures of Welcome.

What we’re looking to fund

We will fund organisations and partnerships whose charitable purpose is to support newcomers to the UK. Those applying should have ongoing, long-term access to safe physical spaces and have a proven track record of providing comprehensive help through three core elements of ‘Welcome’ work:   

• Specialist support: for example, IAA-regulated immigration advice, help with rights and entitlements, destitution and housing matters, healthcare and therapeutic trauma support, English language education and employment. We anticipate that grant holders will deliver much of this work, but we aren’t prescriptive. We understand that enabling high-quality support might mean referring people to specialist providers. 
• Enabling belonging: through regular social contact and relationship building within newcomer communities and between newcomers and other residents, for example through activities involving food, sport or the arts, volunteering or community sponsorship 
• Influencing work: to help improve local conditions for Welcome. For example, strengthening links with local employers and educators or influencing local authority policies and practices that impact newcomers’ rights and ability to connect with and participate in the community 

We recognise that organisations may have formed partnerships to deliver the different elements of Welcome work, building on the strengths of different organisations. We are open to funding formal partnerships with the charitable purpose of supporting newcomers to the UK if they have a track record, robust governance and a single lead grant holder who meets our eligibility criteria.