funding approach cards
How we fund
Our funding approach is based on four important priorities:
1. Equity, diversity and inclusion
We invest in organisations led by and for communities experiencing inequity, exclusion and discrimination and use learning and storytelling to help drive justice.
2. Participation and lived experience
We listen to, work with and support people with direct experience of the issues we fund to ensure our own work best meets their needs.
3. Being learning-led
We continually engage and reflect with our funded partners in order to drive continuous improvement and deeper understanding of the impact our funding has on social change.
4. Centring trust in relationships
We understand the power imbalance traditionally held by funders and continually engage our funded partners in open and transparent dialogue in order to better understand their needs and reduce barriers to engagement, participation and support.
Funding in detail
Funding in detail
How we support change
We support individuals and communities experiencing poverty by funding essential support and services. Through our storytelling, we raise awareness and understanding of the challenges they face. We also tackle the injustices which contribute to poverty by convening our extensive networks to share learning and build collective action.
You can find out more about what your money does through the link below.
Our Progressive Funding Practice
Our funding charter outlines our commitments to the partners we fund, so everyone knows what to expect from our funding partnership.
FS - Our Strategic Programmes
Our Strategic Programmes
During 2023, we are developing a new funding strategy and will be making new grants under this strategy soon with attention on the following key areas:
Alleviating poverty’s consequences and grip on people’s daily lives.
We fund programmes that help people and communities overcome the many challenges they face.
Tackling the injustices that keep people in poverty.
We support organisations and movements that strive for fairness and equity.
Standing with those in poverty who are most harmed by climate change.
We work in places and with people who are already vulnerable and now dealing with the effects of climate change.
Funding - Approaches
Approaches
Comic Relief supports approaches to social change that offer something different, think outside the box or offer new thinking to achieve profound impact.
Pop Culture for Social Change
Pop culture has the ability to provoke far-reaching change in society. The narratives and stories that reach mass audiences through films, TV, music, books, games and journalism, often touch people’s hearts and minds and shift public opinion, thus driving public pressure towards policy change.
Sport for change
Sport for Change can achieve much more than just the physical benefits of participation in sporting activity. Sport brings people together across culture, language, gender and social class, making it a powerful alternative for engagement to clinical or traditional services.
Funding Cards
More about our funding
IVAR's grant making initiative
IVAR’s Open and Trusting grant making initiative calls for funders to adopt more flexible grant making that reflects the challenges and realities facing charities.
Comic Relief has been an active participant since the start in 2020 and we have recently updated our funding commitments.
Centre for Effective Philanthropy
The Centre for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) grantee perception report collects anonymised information from our funded partners so they can give us honest feedback on how they find working with Comic Relief. We undertake the CEP survey every two years and commit to publishing the findings, progress and actions taken.
Tackling Racial Inequalities
Comic Relief was founded on the principles of ending injustice including addressing racial inequality through our work. Here is a summary of the ongoing work across our funding stream, projects, and creative channels as we listen, learn and grow.
Get in touch
We are always trying to learn and improve the way we fund.
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, you are welcome to email us at fundinginfo@comicrelief.com(opens in new window)
We have open and confidential feedback forms available for every funding call we release. Click here to find out more.
Existing Funded Partners can leave feedback anonymously here.