Second Round of Five Year Core Funding Programme Launched

We’re pleased to announce the launch of Round Two of the Improving Lives Through Advice (ILTA) grant programme which will provide 5-year core funding to 17 charities across England.

ILTA is supported by £30 million from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. Thanks to National Lottery players, this funding will enable organisations to support some of the most marginalised people and communities in England – including people with disabilities, women fleeing abuse, and families facing eviction.  

With these latest grants, we aim to reach more people in need of advice and focus on communities who are underrepresented or face additional barriers in accessing legal advice. We recognise that organisations that are embedded within communities cultivate trusted relationships, have a better understanding of the issues a marginalised group faces and empower those communities by supporting them to access services.

IKWRO – Women’s Rights Organisation offers free advice, advocacy and counselling services to Middle Eastern, North African and Afghan women and girls living in the UK. They provide critical advice on domestic abuse, separation and divorce, child residence and contact, housing and benefits. They are working to develop a helpline so that their community can access support when they need it.

We are very grateful to the Access to Justice Foundation for this crucial support which will enable us to help so many women and girls at risk of 'honour' based abuse and domestic abuse and indeed save lives. We are also thankful for the National Lottery Community Fund for their support to our communities.

Diana Nammi, CEO at IKWRO - Women's Rights Organisation

The ILTA funded organisations are serving some of the most marginalised communities who face greater advice needs and considerable barriers to accessing legal advice due to disadvantage, discrimination or their socioeconomic status. We want to support organisations that listen to and learn from communities, to deliver or increase access to specialist legal advice. By shifting power back to communities, we aim to support organisations to deliver transformative change in the lives of the communities they support.

SATEDA’s vision is to empower all women to end the cycle of domestic abuse, reconnect with their own voices and rebuild their lives free from fear, through education, support and advocacy. Their lived experience and trauma informed services allows them to offer ‘full-journey’ support to survivors.

Thank you so much for recognising the importance of SATEDA's work across Kent. This grant will be life-changing for many hundreds of women as they navigate the complexity of the civil courts

Carey Philpott, CEO at SATEDA Domestic Abuse Charity

As in Round One, the demand for funding far outstripped the funds. Round Two of the ILTA programme received 137 expressions of interest with a total ask of £47,368,850. From these we were able to offer grants totalling just over £7.5million over five years to 17 organisations. The significant demand for funding highlights the need for increased investment in access to justice.

Equal Lives supports disabled people in Norfolk providing advice on welfare benefits, health, social care, housing and future planning, through one-off advice and ongoing casework. As part of the Norfolk Community Advice Network, they adopt a ‘one door’ approach which ensures that disabled people have support and pathways to legal advice when engaging with the network’s services.

We are so pleased to have been approved for funding and very much look forward to working with The Access to Justice Foundation over the next 5 years to improve access to advice for Disabled people

Hetal Murphy, Senior Fundraising Officer at Equal Lives

The ILTA cohort will work with us over the next five years to improve access to high quality specialist free legal advice for the people, places and communities that need it the most. A key part of the programme will involve working with grantees to build a strong evidence base that will enable us to continue to make the case for further investment in access to justice. Find out how you can support this mission by being part of the picture here. Funders can learn more about what we have learned so far here.

A full list of grantees for Round Two is below:

  • Citizens Advice North East Derbyshire
  • Coventry Haven Women’s Aid
  • Disability Advice Service (East Suffolk)
  • Family InFocus (Essex)
  • FISCUS North Limited
  • IKWRO – Women’s Rights Organisation
  • Latin American Women’s Rights Service
  • LGBT Foundation
  • Mancroft Advice Project (MAP)
  • Narthex Sparkhill
  • New Forest Disability Information Service
  • Norfolk Coalition of Disabled People (Equal Lives)
  • PBIC Ltd
  • Rainbow Migration
  • Support & Action To End Domestic Abuse (SATEDA)
  • The Oxford Diocesan Council for Social Work Incorporated (working name is ‘Parents And Children Together’)
  • The Women’s Centre Cornwall
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