Mayor announces new £875,000 funding boost to empower communities to tackle hate, intolerance and extremism
- Mayor boosts funding for grassroot groups tackling hate in London following rise in Islamophobia and antisemitism.
- New funding will support 25 community projects across the capital, and benefit 50,000 more Londoners over the next year.
- Part of a record £14.8million investment – more than any mayor - to combat hatred, intolerance and extremism in all its forms and support grassroots community groups to stand up to hate.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a new £875,000 investment to support community projects tackling extremism, hate, intolerance and radicalisation across London.
It marks the fifth year of the Mayor’s grassroots Shared Endeavour Fund which is working to empower Londoners of all ages to challenge racist and hateful views in their communities, better protect those vulnerable to radicalisation and stop the spread of hateful ideologies. More than 140,000 Londoners have benefitted from the grassroots scheme since 2020.
The latest funding comes as fresh statistics show a 147 per cent rise of “anti-Jewish hate” across the UK in 2023 compared to the previous year[1] and over 2,000 anti-Muslim cases since October 2023 - the largest recorded number of cases in four months, since 2011[2].
It will support 25 projects across London to run workshops and educational activities to empower around 50,000 Londoners to stand up to hate. Applications for the new £875,000 fund are now open and projects have until midnight on 5th May 2024 to apply for funding of up to £100,000*.
The fund will also tackle radicalisation and violent extremism in the capital, as Met Police counter terror experts warn of an unprecedented rise in the threat from terrorism following the impact of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Since October, 33 arrests have been made for terrorism offences and of those recently arrested, 20 percent have been children under the age of 18[3].
Whilst the Mayor is taking a proactive approach to safeguard vulnerable Londoners from radicalisation, the Government are implementing proposals to cut the budgets for the Home Office’s Prevent counter-extremism programme in London by half.
This latest investment is part of the Mayor’s record £14.8million investment in tackling hate, which also includes funding the Community Alliance To Combat Hate (CATCH) partnership, which provides support for victims of all forms of hate crime – from racism to religious discrimination and anti-LGBTQ+ abuse.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “We have seen an appalling rise in hate crime over the last few months and I’m determined to lead from the front and work in partnership with all of London’s diverse communities so that no individual or community are singled out or targeted for who they are.
“A Muslim woman should not have to take off her headscarf just because she doesn't want to be targeted, nor a Jewish person should have to hide their Star of David because they don't want to be singled out.
“In London, our diversity is our greatest strength and whilst we are facing some very difficult times, with the politics of extremism, division and blame becoming more mainstream, I know that the decent majority in our city and country believe in our values of equality, openness and respect for diversity. I’m proud to be announcing this additional funding to help grassroots community groups continue their work to build a safer and more tolerant London for everyone.”
Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command, said: “The increasing complexity and fluidity of violent ideologies we see in our Counter Terrorism Policing caseload, particularly online, is a clear indication of the immense challenges faced by those determined to help to deter and divert people away from dangerous extremism.
“Our key partnerships with local authorities, MOPAC, education establishments and the charity sector have never been more vital to the success of our shared counter terrorism goals. We are always keen to examine new and innovative ideas that will help stem the flow of toxic ideologies. Effective collaboration and engagement with partners and the wider public is essential to our common priority of keeping the public safe from Terrorism.”
Jodie Franks, Assistant Manager, – Stand Up, said: “The support from the Mayor’s office and the Shared Endeavour Fund in 2023/24, allowed Stand Up! to reach more young people across London during a critical time in which antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents have reached an all-time high (particularly affecting young people in school settings).
“Thanks to SEF Funding, Stand Up! has reached over 14,000 young Londoners since September 2023, facilitating a safe space for young people to meet Jewish and Muslim facilitators to breakdown misconceptions and stereotypes targeting minority communities.”
Mike Haines, founder of Global Acts of Unity, said: “The Shared Endeavour Fund has enabled Global Acts of Unity to run a tour of London schools in the first quarter of 2024. I was able to personally deliver this workshop to over 8,000 secondary school pupils across several London boroughs.
“This project is particularly important at this time because social tensions have sadly increased as extremists exploit the fallout and conflict following the deadly attacks by Hamas on October 7th alongside the ensuing humanitarian crisis for Gazans. My sharing of David’s story tells of the devastating consequences of extremism, for both victims and perpetrators.
“SEF is a good funder, with a clear process and benchmarks to release funding. Through the SEF network, GAU has connected with other groups, identifying mutual support and shared experience, helping us achieve our objective – reducing the threat from extremism to society.”
Ruth Martin, Grants Team Manager at Groundwork London: “At Groundwork London, we work to support London's diverse communities to ensure the capital is a vibrant, respectful, and safe place for everyone. The Shared Endeavour Fund plays an important part of that mission, as it empowers civil society organisations to counter hate, intolerance and radicalisation in their communities and take action against issues they directly face.
“This work continues to be extremely relevant given current global events something which has been echoed by current grantees. So far, we have worked with MOPAC to support over 90 initiatives across London, which has impacted over 140,000 Londoners. Groundwork London are proud to continue to administer the Shared Endeavour Fund, and support applicants and grant recipients to deliver these important projects across London."
Notes to editors
*Applications for the new £875,000 fund are now open and projects have until midnight on 5th May 2024 to apply for funding of up to £100,000. A full list of all the grantees of this year’s funding will be presented this Autumn.
The portal to apply for a grant via the Shared Endeavour Fund is now live, and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/london/shared-endeavour-fund/
Deadline for applications is 24:00 am on 05/05/24.
There are three tiers of grant which require different eligibility requirements:
Tier 1 – Up to £25,000;
Tier 2 – Up to £50,000
Tier 3 Up to £100,000
The largest tier requires some match funding investment from outside MOPAC and the GLA.
[1] CST’s Antisemitic Incidents Report 2023, shows 4,103 instances of anti-Jewish hate recorded across the UK in 2023. This is the highest annual total ever reported to CST. It is a 147% rise from the 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, and 81% higher than the previous yearly record of 2,261 incidents, reported in 2021. CST recorded 1,684 antisemitic incidents in 2020, and 1,813 in 2019. https://cst.org.uk/news/blog/2024/02/15/antisemitic-incidents-report-2023
[2] As the leading hate crime monitoring agency on measuring anti-Muslim hate, Tell MAMA recorded over 2,000 anti-Muslim cases in the four months that followed Hamas’s deadly terror attacks on October 7. This is the largest recorded number of cases in four months, since Tell MAMA was founded in 2011. Following the publication of their previous briefing on December 20, Tell MAMA can confirm that in total, of the 2,010 cases post October 7th 2023, 901 occurred offline with 1,109 online cases. In comparison with the same timescale a year earlier, this demonstrates a 335% increase in anti-Muslim hate cases. https://tellmamauk.org/greatest-rise-in-reported-anti-muslim-hate-cases-to-tell-mama-since-oct-7th/
[3] Police have seen an "unprecedented" rise in the threat from terrorism following the conflict in Gaza, which has become a "radicalisation moment", Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer has said. Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Matt Jukes said there had been a 25 percent increase in intelligence coming into counter-terrorism police, "a significant increase on our usual levels". https://news.sky.com/story/uks-counter-terror-chief-warns-of-unprecedented-rise-in-terrorism-threat-since-israel-gaza-war-started-13052040
Breakdown of the Shared Endeavour Fund:
The Mayor’s additional funding boost to his Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) programme this week means Sadiq has now invested £3.95million – more than any other Mayor – in the funding of positive projects and opportunities to support Londoners including the next generation in standing up against hate and extremism.
The projects which are allocated funds in the latest round of the Shared Endeavour Fund have until April 2025 to deliver their projects.
This is the 5th call for applications for the Shared Endeavour Fund. Previous calls and their outputs are noted below:
- Call 1 of the Shared Endeavour Fund – 2020/21 – £800k (match funding £400k each from Mayor and Google.org) – funded 31 projects – reached more than 28,000 direct beneficiaries.
- Call 2 – 2021/22 – £600k (Mayor funds only) – funded 19 projects - reached more than 33,000 direct beneficiaries.
- Call 3 – 2022/23 – £725k (Mayor funds only) – funded 22 projects – reached more than 30,000 direct beneficiaries.
- Call 4 – 2023/24 - £850k (Mayor funds only) – funding 25 projects - expected to reach 30,000 direct beneficiaries.
- Call 4 top-up of £75k (reacting to Israel and Gaza crisis)
- Projects that the Shared Endeavour Fund support, include, Stand Up – Education Against Discrimination, an interfaith programme that brings Jewish and Muslim facilitators into the school classroom to create a safe space for young people to explore and learn about issues of discrimination, racism and extremism, and Global Acts of Unity which uses the tragic story of a victim of terrorism to challenge radicalisation and the fermentation of hate.
- The Mayor is clear that there can be no room for complacency and is calling on the Government to reverse this decision and ensure counter terror initiatives receive the full funding they need.
- The latest funding into the Shared Endeavour Fund brings the Mayor’s total support for grassroot efforts to stand up to hate and radicalisation to a record £3.95m - more than any other previous Mayor. The Shared Endeavour Fund has already supported more than 90 projects since 2020, with over 140,000 Londoners benefitting.
About the Shared Endeavour Fund:
The Mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund offers grants of up to £100,000 for projects which identify opportunities to counter violent extremism in London, and is focused on funding initiatives which help to counter extremism in London across these key areas:
- Strengthening communities against extremism;
- Encouraging Londoners to stand up to hate and intolerance;
- Safeguarding vulnerable Londoners from radicalisation;
- Stopping the spread of extremist ideologies.
The Shared Endeavour Fund priorities are:
- Awareness raising: Increase Londoners’ awareness of the existence, impact and counter-arguments to racism, intolerance, hate, extremism and/or terrorism;
- Building psychosocial resilience: Strengthen psychosocial factors among Londoners that promote resilience to radicalisation and extremist recruitment;
- Encouraging prosocial behaviours: Empower Londoners to actively, confidently and safely challenge intolerant, hateful and extremist attitudes and behaviours;
- Stakeholder capacity building: Support key stakeholders such as teachers, practitioners, community leaders and activists to work with communities to prevent and counter intolerance, hate, extremism and radicalisation.
- Shared Endeavour Fund projects are being delivered across the capital in every London area in which the Met has a dedicated Basic Command Unit team.
More on the Shared Endeavour Fund: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/london/shared-endeavour-fund/
The Mayor’s Shared Endeavour Fund is independently evaluated. The latest published evaluation showcased the strong impact and efficacy of the fund stating that it had been “successful in building Londoners’ resilience to radicalisation and extremist recruitment, and reducing racism, intolerance, hate and extremism in the capital. Link to full report here: https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/shared-endeavour-fund-call-two-evaluation-report/
Stand Up – Education Against Discrimination
This interfaith programme brings Jewish and Muslim facilitators into the school classroom to create a safe space for young people to explore and learn about issues of discrimination, racism and extremism. They provide expert advice and first-hand lived experience on the specific topics of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate. Workshop content is tailored to the specific local area through collaborations with leading counter-hate organisations such as Tell MAMA and the CST (Community Security Trust).
Global Acts of Unity
Global Acts of Unity (GAU) was founded by Mike Haines whose brother, David, was kidnapped and murdered by a group of British DAESH fighters in Syria. GAU’s project counters radicalisation and hateful ideas by promoting positive values as an antidote to hate and discrimination. Mike delivers workshops to schools where he tells his personal story. Audiences hear how Mike made a choice to overcome hatred. He could have hated his brother’s killers, but he knew that if he did, they would have won. Participants hear Mike speak about his journey in starting GAU to promote the importance of tolerance, understanding, acceptance and unity.