Trust for London has a long standing commitment to supporting organisations run and managed by people directly affected by the issues they work on.
To date, we have prioritised funding to organisations ‘of’ rather than ‘for’ Disabled people.
We have now taken the decision to go a step further by adopting the position ‘nothing about us, without us’.
So, in future, for work relating to Deaf and Disabled people, we will only fund organisations which have a majority of Deaf and Disabled people on their governing body (ideally 75%), and with at least half their staff members being Deaf or Disabled.
Tracey Lazard, CEO of Inclusion London, the body promoting Deaf and Disabled people’s equality and inclusion in London, commented on the decision:
“We are delighted by the decision by Trust for London to build on its commitment to only fund disability organisations that are run and controlled by Deaf and Disabled people. This is a milestone in progressive practice by funders. Disability organisations should be user-led in the same way that women’s organisations are led by women. We hope this decision marks a decisive shift in funders’ recognition that, like other equality groups, funders need to start funding organisations that are run and controlled by Deaf and Disabled people.”
We are currently inviting applications for Phase 2 of our Strengthening Voices, Realising Rights initiative supporting DPPOs in London proposing to carry out policy advocacy, campaigning and other work - deadline 6 June. To apply, take a look at the full details.