The Henry Smith Foundation has announced a new £2.6m Equity in Justice Fund. The Fund, which will open to applications at 9am on Wednesday 24 June 2026, will award up to 13 grants, each for up to £200,000 over 3-5 years. These will go to UK charitable organisations, including Community Interest Companies, who are working with racially minoritized young men aged 18-25 in contact with the UK's criminal justice system.
The overarching aim of the programme is to increase access to specialist services that can meet the unique requirements of beneficiaries, with a specific focus on culturally appropriate support and lived experience.
Grants are intended to flexible enough to cover running costs, not just project delivery. At least half of the fund is ring-fenced for organisations led by and for the racially minoritized communities they serve, where at least 50% of trustees and staff come from those communities.
A webinar to find out moe has been scheduled for Tuesday 23 June 2026 from 2-3pm. Registration can be made at this link.
The Fund has been created in response to the Foundation’s research, which has indicated that young men from racially minoritized communities are over-represented at many points in the justice system as a result of ongoing systemic bias combined with a lack of specialist services that understand their needs.
If you deliver specialist services to racially minoritized young men aged 18 to 25 in contact with the justice system in any part of the UK, and have at least 18 months of experience, the Foundation would like to hear from you.
To apply, eligible organisation should take the simple online suitability checker to find out whether your organisation is eligible to apply. Eligible organisations will be able to submit an Expression of Interest from 24 June.
The deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is Wednesday 5 August 2026 at 5pm.
A representative of the Henry Smith Foundation will contact Expression of Interest applicants during the week of Monday 14 September 2026 to tell you whether you should submit a full application. If the Foundation decides not to invite you to apply, it will explain why in writing.
The deadline for submitting a Full Applications is Friday 9 October 2026 at 5pm.
Following this, applicants will have a phone conversation with a member of the Foundation’s team in mid-October to early November 2026.
Further information about the Equity in Justice Fund is available on the Foundation’s website.
Further rounds of the Fund are scheduled for January 2027, June 2027 and January 2028.