The Social Rights Alliance in Manchester is celebrating after being awarded £56,041.71, through Just Fair, in National Lottery Community funding to put people with lived experience in the lead to tackle social injustice from a rights-based perspective.
The new grant from the UK’s largest funder of community activity will see organising and campaign support to people in South Manchester’s Moss Side and Wythenshawe communities, to tackle varying social injustices using a rights-based approach.
The project will support local people to better understand and promote their economic, social and cultural rights, and use them as the basis of campaigning strategies. By increasing their capacity to challenge decision makers, the voices and leadership of local people will drive change on the issues that matter to them.
Social Rights Alliance North West Coordinator, Rachael Gibbons said:
“This is a real opportunity to harness the enthusiasm and momentum community members in both Moss Side and Wythenshawe have shown during the COVID-19pandemic in organising mutual aid and support for fellow residents. Both communities experience varying degrees of social injustices on a daily basis and have a long-standing stigma attached to them, but we know that residents are strong, capable and passionate leaders of their communities and we look forward to supporting them even further to deliver meaningful social change”.
The grant is part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s Lived Experience Leaders programme, which announced on the 16 of February 2021 £2.5million of funding going to 49 projects across the UK. The National Lottery funding will support organisations to better embed experts by experience in all aspects of operations – including making it central to COVID-19 response, recovery and renewal – and enables the Fund and the wider sector to continue learning about how people with first-hand experience can become leaders, and how funders can support them.
Cassie Robinson, Senior Head of UK Portfolio at The National Lottery Community Fund said:
“Thanks to National Lottery players, people with lived experience will use their unique expertise to lead social change and help their communities to thrive, which is vital in the response to – and looking ahead to the recovery from – COVID-19. We know that supporting those with first-hand experience to become leaders is a key enabler for civil society to do more, help more people, and for the sector to continue to make a positive impact.”
The Lived Experience Leadership programme was developed using learning and insights from the pilot programme and is a key part of The National Lottery Community Fund’s commitment to enabling civil society to be fit for the future. The programme is helping organisations and the social sector create opportunities for people with first-hand experience to be at the forefront of decision making.
National Lottery players raise £30 million a week for good causes. During 2020 The National Lottery Community Fund distributed over £650 million to community projects across the UK*.
To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk