Corra Racial Equity Fund

The Corra Racial Equity Fund provides unrestricted funding to organisations that are led by, and working with, people from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds. 

The Corra Racial Equity Fund is open to charities and registered not-for-profit organisations with an annual income of £250,000 or less in each of the last three financial years. Organisations can apply for funding of up to £50,000 across five years (no more than £10,000 in any one year).

We anticipate making grants up to a total of £500,000. Approximately 10 organisations are likely to receive funding. The closing date for applications is 12-noon on Thursday 15 October 2026.

This fund provides unrestricted funding to organisations that are led by people from Black and racially minoritised communities. This is part of Corra’s commitment to supporting racial equity by providing targeted support to groups that have historically been under-resourced, in turn limiting their voice and power.

Racial equity and racial justice are fundamental themes in Corra’s ten-year strategy. This strategy is a response to the world we live in, and the one we want to play a part in building. As a funder, an organisation and as a partner, we are listening and learning alongside Black and racially minoritised people and communities across Scotland. This shapes and informs racial equity across all our work and contributes towards wider racial justice in Scotland.

For this programme, your organisation is considered to be led by people from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds if it fits these criteria:

• 75% or more of your Board of Trustees/Management Committee, are from a Black and racially minoritised background AND
• 50% or more of the senior staff are from a Black and racially minoritised background (where staff exist).

If you are unsure whether or not your organisation meets this criterion, please contact us by emailing cref@corra.scot and we will be happy to talk to you.

You can apply if you:

• Have an income of £250,000 or less in each of the last three financial years.
• Are a charity in Scotland which is registered on OSCR

 OR

• Are a Community Interest Company (CIC), social enterprise or other registered not-for-profit entity (such as private company limited by guarantee without share capital) registered on Companies House. Your Companies House information needs to clearly show that:
  • Your organisation is not for profit or has a clear clause in your governing documents ensuring that all income is applied to the organisation’s purposes and not distributed to members, shareholders or owners.
  • There is a dissolution clause/asset lock in place requiring assets are distributed to an organisation with similar charitable aims in the instance of closure.
  • No director has more than 50% control or voting rights.
  • There is a minimum of three unrelated people on the Management Committee or Board.
• Does not have an ongoing Henry Duncan Grant or Corra Racial Equity Fund grant that will NOT have ended by 29 September 2026. All reporting requirements from that grant need to be completed to apply for this programme.

All applicants must also demonstrate that:

• 75% or more of your Management Committee or Board are from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds AND
• 50% or more of your senior staff must be from Black and racially minoritised backgrounds, where staff exist AND
• Your organisation has been supporting your community for at least a minimum period of 12 months AND
• Your organisation listens to and involves your community, ensuring the voices and views of your service users are heard.

Please Note: We expect to receive a high volume of applications. We are unlikely to fund organisations that have more than 12 months of unrestricted reserves or have a significant deficit or are carrying a sizeable sum of money as debt.

Although this fund is not focused on a particular type of work or theme, we are particularly interested in organisations where projects and services are initiated and led by people with lived experience of the issues being addressed. Strong applications will reflect this way of working. We want to hear about the difference a Corra Racial Equity Fund grant would make to your organisation and work, and how the lives of people in your community will improve as a result.

• You can apply for up to £10,000 per year, across five years – a total grant of £50,000. You can apply for fewer years or a smaller amount per year if you prefer. We understand that every organisation has different needs and ideas. We encourage you to think about how much your organisation needs and to apply for that amount.
• In 2026 the Corra Racial Equity Fund will provide unrestricted funding for up to five years. That means you can use the money to deliver any aspect of your work that supports your community, including contributing to your organisation’s core costs.
• Corra Racial Equity Fund grants can fund a new project idea, help you continue an existing project, or support your general running costs, for example paying staff, rent, travel or overheads. The way you use the grant can change from year to year.

If you would like to chat to a member of the team about your application, at any stage of the process, please contact cref@corra.scot to arrange a call.

Information Sessions

To find out more about the Corra Racial Equity Fund, come along to one of our free online information sessions. Please use the links below to sign up to the session you would like to join.

• Tuesday 15 September at 11am
• Wednesday 16 September at 6pm

Please remember to let us know when booking if you require communication support to fully participate in the session.

If you have any questions about the events or are unable to book a space, please contact cref@corra.scot and we can support you directly.

If you cannot attend an information session, the presentation from the session will be made available to download after the events.

We expect to let you know the outcome of your application by mid-March 2027.

We provide written feedback to all applicants and are happy to discuss this further with you once you’ve received your result. 

You will be asked to report on your grant annually. This will be an easy process to tell us about how you spent the money, how this helped your work and the people you support.