The Bartlett Group Fund 2022

The Bartlett Group Fund – a new partnership between Leeds Community Foundation and the Bartlett Foundation – aims to support families in vulnerable circumstances. Providing largely unrestricted grants, the Fund is investing in locally rooted community groups that take an integrated approach to working with families, making positive changes to the lives of children and young people. 

With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to put strain on families and their budgets, trusted advice and support has never been more needed. In late-May 2022, around 60% of low-income households in the UK were going without at least one essential, with nearly half skipping meals or going hungry, and more than a quarter unable to adequately heat their homes since the start of the year (JRF Briefing 2022). 

The Bartlett Group Fund invested almost £150,000 in 2 Community Organisations in Bradford, and 3 in Leeds. These organisations will use their funding for their day-to-day delivery, and to develop their long-term sustainability so they can continue to support people in their communities for a long time to come. 

The organisations that were awarded funding are: 

• • • • Leeds GATE Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (Leeds) 

• • • • Muslim Women’s Council (Bradford) 
      • St Luke’s Cares (Leeds) 
      • Step 2 Young People’s Health Project (Bradford) 
      • The Valley Project (Leeds) 

The support these organisations will be offering includes: 

• • • • Providing essential support such as foodbanks and cooking schemes to help families access nutritious food 
      • Signposting families facing multiple challenges to support they are entitled to, for example counselling or wellbeing services and income support 
      • Educating and upskilling families on financial literacy, how to prepare low-cost healthy meals which limit food waste and shopping smartly. 
      • Proactive wellbeing support for children and young people living in poverty and facing related challenges, for example struggling with   self-esteem, mental health and school. 

Alongside this, organisations will focus on their own development to contribute to, and improve, the effectiveness of the support they can offer. This could be focusing on staff development, funding and finance, strategy and planning or partnerships and collaboration, for example. 

Organisations have been awarded 3 years’ worth of funding and will report on their activity at the end of each year. We look forward to sharing the successes, challenges and learning from these organisations as the Fund progresses. 

For more information on grants awarded, visit the What We’ve Funded page.