Baring Foundation
OVERVIEW: The Baring Foundation broadly funds organizations that promote human rights and inclusion in the United Kingdom and Sub-Saharan Africa. It supports LGBTQ rights and advocacy, the arts, mental health and capacity building for human rights nonprofits.
IP TAKE: Baring is big on strengthening and building the capacity of civil society organizations, and it prefers to fund local and grassroots groups rather than large international organizations, so this is a great funder for smaller outfits. The Baring Foundation provides both general operating support and project-specific support. This funder generally does not accept unsolicited applications for funding but occasionally posts calls for proposals for its U.K. funding.
PROFILE: The U.K.-based Baring Foundation was established in 1969 as the philanthropic arm of Barings Bank. The foundation became an independent entity in 1995 upon the collapse of the bank and the foundation became an independent entity through the use of an endowment. Baring has focused its grantmaking through three main programs: Arts, International Development and Strengthening Civil Society.
The foundation has an excellent, detailed website for grantseekers to search, which is updated regularly.
Grants for Global Development, Human Rights and LGBTQ
The Baring Foundation awards grants concerning human rights through its International Development program centers around efforts to combat “discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals and communities in sub-Saharan Africa,” with a particular focus on lesbian and transgender communities. This funder prefers to support locally-led organizations, as well as local grantmakers, to help “develop the evidence base for the impact of local civil society in sub-Saharan Africa” and attract more support to the region. Past grantees include Pan Africa ILGA, Gender Dynamix, Initiative Sankofa D’Afrique de l’Ouest and the Forum for the Empowerment of Women.
Grants for Civic and Democracy
The Baring Foundation’s Strengthening Civil Society program, formerly called Strengthening the Voluntary Sector, aims to “support organisations within broader civil society to embrace law and human rights based approaches as effective tools for achieving change for individuals and communities.” It also works to facilitate collaborations, partnerships, and networks among human rights nonprofits. The foundation encourages the organizations it works with to “understand how their objectives can be achieved through use of the law or human rights based approaches” and promotes projects that “link the skills of ‘non-legal’ and ‘legal’ organisations to enhance and complement campaigns of social change.” Grantees include the Public Law Project, Redress Trust, Inclusion London, openDemocracy, JustRight Scotland, Royal Mencap Society, and Centre for Women’s Justice.
Grants for Arts and Culture
The Baring Foundation’s Arts program funds a broad range of artistic and cultural institutions in the United Kingdom, based on a particular theme. From 2010 to 2019, the foundation’s theme was Arts and Older People, distributing over £6 million to projects that explored subjects related to aging. The Baring Foundation has announced that its next theme will be Arts and Mental Health. It seeks to fund work that promotes “greater understanding and awareness of mental health problems” and addresses challenging aspects of modern mental health systems. The foundation is particularly interested in “participatory art, where trained artists work with people without their training to develop their creative skills.”
Important Grant Details:
Grants generally range from £3,500 to about £170,000. Grantseekers may review the foundation’s grants database for more information on its past grantees. While this funder primarily funds local organizations based in the United Kingdom, its international grantmaking centers around Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Baring Foundation’s international grants are awarded by invitation only. It accepts grants for its domestic (United Kingdom) grantmaking only when it has an open call for proposals. Grantseekers should keep an eye on the foundation’s website for announcements on open calls.
PEOPLE:
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