How to apply for funding
Application process
1. Find out if you’re eligible
If you’re interested in applying for funding from us, please see our funding criteria.
2. Register
If you think this is the right funding opportunity for you, then you will need to register on our application portal with your name, organisation and contact details. You can ask us to create an account for you if you are having difficulty.
Speak to us
If you would like guidance on whether to apply or have questions about the application process, contact us to book a short call with one of our grants team. This call is not required and is not part of our assessment process.
If you have a current or recent grant, please contact your grant manager about a further application.
3. Choose how you would like to apply
We want to know how you meet our funding criteria. You can choose to tell us this in one of the following ways:
-
If you already have documents, such as an application for another funder, or information on your website which tell us what we need to know, you can make an application just by uploading those or sharing links.
-
You can also tell us how you meet our criteria by sending us video content, either pre-existing or recorded for this application.
For all applicants, we ask for a copy of your most recent accounts and your governing document (e.g. Constitution or Memorandum of Association) if these are not publicly available.
You can apply at any time but we make decisions on grants under £50,000 four times a year and larger grants twice a year.
4. Submit your application
Submit your application
Use our online portal to submit your application
What happens after I apply?
1. Staff shortlisting
Our grants team will read all the applications and information submitted. We will also look at publicly available information about your organisation such as your website, the Charity Commission, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or Companies House.
If you have applied for a short-term or urgent grant from our Emerging Justice Fund, the grants team will then meet to make a final decision about your application.
For all other applications, the next steps are:
2. First stage decision
The grants team discuss and agree which applicants are strongest within our available budget. You will hear by email if we have been able to shortlist your application within five weeks of the deadline. If your application has been turned down at first stage, we will give you the main reason and you may request further feedback.
3. Second stage meeting
A member of the grants team will arrange to meet key people in the organisation, either online or in-person. We will want to find out more about:
- How you use (or want to use) the law to create change that builds social justice.
- How you are accountable to the communities you serve.
- How you meet our other criteria and align with our values.
- The size and length of LEF funding that would offer the right support for your organisation.
4. Second stage application
If you did not complete the four application questions at first stage, we will ask you to answer them at second stage. Our grants team can help you to complete them through the assessment meeting.
At this stage, we will also ask for some more financial information about your current financial year, for example how much you expect to spend this year – and how much you have raised so far.
5. Staff review
The grants team will meet to consider all the second stage applications and ensure that the information is clear and consistent. We may ask you for additional information after this meeting.
6. Grants and Learning Committee
All second stage applications are considered by our Grants Committee, who make the final decision. We will share with them your answers to the four application questions so that they see how you describe your own work, as well as the staff assessment.
Our Grants Committee is made up of three LEF trustees and three external members with lived and learned experience of the issues we work on, who will be in post for our upcoming autumn 2025 round.
7. Notifications
We will let you know the Committee’s decision by email. If your application is unsuccessful, we will include specific feedback on their reasons.
We want to learn with the organisations we fund.
2025/6 timetable
Emerging Justice fund (applications under £50,000)
Short-term or urgent applications for under £50,000 can be submitted at any time and will normally be considered four times a year. You’ll receive a decision from us on these applications within 12–14 weeks.
Emerging Justice fund (applications over £50,000) and Strengthening Justice fund
First stage deadline: 18 September
First stage notifications: 20 October
Second stage assessments (including meetings and visits): mid-October to mid-November
Second stage notifications: 19 December
As this is the first round of new grants programmes with new processes, we will learn and adapt to the volume of applications and time needed for assessments. However, we can confirm that the deadline for the spring 2026 round will be no earlier than February for a decision by June.
Use of artificial intelligence (AI)
We know that some people may use AI in their applications and we will not take this into account when assessing applications. We do not use AI at LEF at any stage of the assessment process.