The Vision Foundation announces additional funding round to support blind and partially sighted people in London

Image is the Vision Foundation logo

The Vision Foundation is delighted to be announcing a new grant funding round today, with grants up to £20k available to organisations working with blind and partially sighted people or in support of eye health. This funding round will include two Funds – the Project Fund and the Resilience Fund.

The Project Fund will offer grants of up to £20k for projects which deliver services to and address structural barriers faced by blind and partially sighted people in London. Applications will be accepted across the Charity’s three aims of Opening London Up, Empowering Those At Risk, and Preventing Avoidable Blindness. The charity particularly welcomes projects which work to address the shockingly high unemployment rates of blind and partially sighted people, following their See My Skills report. The report, launched by Vision Foundation Patron HRH The Countess of Wessex at an event in July, identified the main barriers to employment and made practical recommendations on how these could be addressed.

Applications are invited from organisations throughout Greater London (within the M25) which support blind and partially sighted people to find and retain paid work. Grants of up to £20,000 are available through a one-stage application process, these will typically be awarded for up to two years. In addition to employment, access and improvements to key services remains critical to many people with visual impairment. Therefore, the charity also supports proposals which work to address the key areas under all its strategic aims.

The Resilience Fund will offer core and unrestricted grants of up to £5,000 to London’s sight loss organisations, in recognition of the heavy toll taken by the Covid-19 Pandemic on the charity sector’s finances. The Resilience Fund is designed to aid recovery and to support sustainability, effectiveness and efficiencies. This funding will place grantees on surer footing for the year ahead, and allow them to prioritise resilience and impact. As unrestricted funding, the grant could cover operating running costs including contributions to rent, salaries or strengthening operational systems and processes.

“We are so excited to be able to launch one more round of funding in this financial year.” says Vision Foundation Chief Executive Olivia Curno. “This is largely thanks to our loyal supporters who have been so generous throughout the year, and our exceptional fundraising team who have maximised new opportunities.” She continues, “We are thrilled to be able to fund both innovative and essential projects which support blind and partially sighted Londoners, and to ensure that grassroots organisations are able to recover from a very challenging year and a half.”

The online application process has been designed and tested for ease of use and accessibility by visually impaired Vision Foundation colleagues. Deadline for applications is 13 January 2022. The final decision will be made by the Vision Foundation’s Trustees and Grants and Impact Advisory Committee with applicants being informed of the outcome by the end of March 2022.

To apply for a Vision Fund grant: https://www.visionfoundation.org.uk/our-work/funding/apply-for-funding/

Download “See My Skills: Breaking the cycle of unemployment for blind and partially sighted people,” the Vision Foundation’s research identifying barriers to employment and recommendations on how to break these down at https://www.visionfoundation.org.uk/see-my-skills-reports/

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