Small charities across England and Wales are being urged to apply for two-year unrestricted grants of £50,000.

The money is being offered by Lloyds Bank Foundation, which has said that at least a quarter of this year’s pot will be allocated to Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) led charities. A separate funding strand for charities looking to combat racial inequality is set to open in the coming months.

Priorities of the funding include tackling homelessness, trafficking and domestic abuse.

The application process is open across the year, “meaning charities can apply at a time that suits them and will not be restricted by deadlines”, said the Foundation.

A total of £9.5m is on offer to 190 small charities, with an income of between £25,000 and £1m.

Alongside the funding charities will be supported by one of the Foundation’s regional managers to help “access organisational development support”.

“The last year has been challenging for small charities responding to the pandemic,” said Lloyds Bank Foundation chief executive Paul Streets.

“They’ve been vital in absorbing the worst effects of the crisis and providing support to people that need them the most. Even though we can now see a path out of the pandemic, locally rooted charities need long-term support to help left behind communities recover.”

He added: “Last year, 38% of our COVID Recovery grants were awarded to charities led by and for minoritised groups, but with these communities continuing to be disproportionately affected, we remain committed to continuing to ringfence at least a quarter of our funding and overcoming structural inequalities in sector funding.”

A webinar with members of the grants team is to be held on 30 March.

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