CORE is our funder plus solution that opens up opportunities for Black focused organisations and the people that lead them. We are committed to the growth and stability of the Black-led Third Sector in the UK.

We are a community of 500 Black-led charities and social enterprises. Our goal is to identify every Black-led social impact organisation in the UK and effectively support them to achieve their financial and impact goals. To do that we will be producing 3 CORE programmes.
  • CORE 1: a focused 2 month in-depth expert-led program that will support organisational leaders to tackle the key barriers that are stagnating their growth and impact in their community. This programme is accessible by application.
  • CORE 2: this is for any Black person in the third sector at any level that is seeking a better understanding of the sector and what they should know to succeed in it. We recognise that the third sector is one of the least diverse sectors in the UK. That fact is detrimental to the development of Black communities as we recignise the need for the people in need of support being instrumental in the development of the mechanisms that support them. Our goal is to contribute to the professional development of staff at Black-led organisations and Black people who aspire to work in the third sector.
  • CORE 3: we know representation matters and that access to leaders within the third sector is notably difficult. Therefore we will be running a series of systems change talks in which leaders of organisations both big and small, speak with us about their work, the impact it is creating and the way they interact with systems change for the betterment of their community and beneficiaires. 

​CORE 1: access by application. February - March 2021

50 organisations will have free access to an 8-week programme that will support them in understanding the key tools and resources they need to ensure that they are able to fortify 8 key areas of their organisations. Over the 2 month period, selected organisations will engage in in-depth virtual workshops on that focus on 8 key areas: 
  1. Income Generation
  2. Governance & Risk
  3. People and Culture
  4. Communications
  5. Finance & Resources
  6. Impact Measurement
  7. Operations
  8. Strategy 

In addition, all beneficiaries will be given access to a private online group where they can share information and learning, support each other through the programme, and seek collaborations and partnerships with other organisations. We will also be providing advisory sessions to each of the beneficiaries in particular relation to their finances and strategic focus. 

Finally, we will be supporting these organisations to become more able to receive funding from trusts and foundations that are similarly interested in ensuring the continued development of Black-led charities and social enterprises in the UK. CORE 1 is funded by the National Emergencies Trust and UK Community Foundations. 

Criteria
  • Organisations must have been operational in 2020
  • Organisations must be led by a Black or Mixed with Black person
  • Organisations must have an annual turnover under £250K
  • Organisations must support predominantly Black communities. Over 50% of each organisation’s beneficiaries must identify as Black or Mixed with Black
  • Organisations must be based in the UK
  • The beneficiaries of the organisations must also predominantly be based inn the UK
  • At least one person from the organisation must be available to join each training session

The expression of interest form can be accessed on the application page here.

Deadline has passed.

After the programme we will continue to support all our CORE 1 beneficiaries through useful introductions, effective showcasing of their interventions and more.

​CORE 2: access to all. April - December 2021

All the organisations we identify will be able to engage in free webinar-based training that will support beneficiaries in becoming more aware of the tools and resources they will need to achieve their key objectives as an organisation. 

We recognise that one of the key drawbacks affecting Black-led organisations within the UK’s third sector is a real lack of awareness of the ways by which the third sector and its key stakeholders operate. Therefore, we have designed this CORE 2 program to give organisations, particularly those in the early stages of their development, the opportunity to gain key knowledge that will help them position themselves and their organisations effectively. 

Importantly, we are committed to the development of Black people within the third sector more generally. As such we are interested in having employees of Black-led civil society and Black staff within civil society organisations join the webinars so that they can understand some of the broader connotations of their work. 

Our newsletter will host all relevant information about this as it develops.

CORE 3: representation matters. April - December 2021

In keeping with our commitment to increasing the number of Black people working in the third sector in the UK, we have created a Systems Change series.

Our goal is to deepen our community’s understanding of the impact-driven work our beneficiaries are doing as well as the work of other Black people working in the third sector. 

Our hope with this series is to celebrate the deeply impactful work of Black people and the change they are making in our society.

Our newsletter will host all relevant information about this as it develops. 

​To stay in the loop with the developments on CORE 1, 2 or 3, do sign up to our newsletter. ​