We would like to thank all the groups that applied to join the 2026 Funding Working Group!
The Funding Working Group (FWG) is a key part of our Participatory Grant-making Model. It brings together Edge members to review, develop and implement the criteria for our funding rounds with the aim of redistributing grants to grassroots organisations that, because of their political values, size or structure, are unable to access larger sources of funding or receive support from the traditional philanthropic sector.
The groups joining the Funding Working Group will receive an induction into our assessment criteria and methodology. They will have the opportunity to review and adapt them to the priorities of this year's funding round and the realities we are currently facing, identifying priority areas of work, regions and approaches to organising.
In 2023 we introduced a modest compensation scheme for grassroots organisers assessing and evaluating applications during the funding round. In 2025 we took this participatory approach further by inviting our past grantees to join the FWG as groups rather than individuals. In 2026 we have again opened a call for groups to apply for a position in the FWG and bring their expertise to the room. This helps ensure that decisions are informed not only by members' lived experience and expertise in the areas we support, but also by the collective knowledge and perspectives developed through the work of their organisations.
We will soon announce the details of the 2026 Funding Round. Through a new edition of the Roots Fund we aim to redistribute grants to 40 grassroots organisations tackling Islamophobia, Afriphobia, the legacies of colonialism and racial violence, and the growing presence of the far right in the UK and Ireland.
In the meantime, we are delighted to introduce our 2026 Funding Working Group, whose members will work together over the next five months to support grassroots organisations in accessing funding. This year's FWG combines Edge grantees with experience in our 2025 FWG with grantees that will have their first ever experience as decision-makers in our participatory model. This guarantees continuity in our mission while also opens the opportunity for having new insights as part of the the process.
These are the 6 organisations that form part of the Roots Fund Funding Working Group:
Congolese Roots (London) @congoleseroots
As first and second-generation Congolese immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Greater London, our community faces the direct brunt of colonial legacies and the hostile environment. The global colonial order drives the ongoing war, extractivism, and instability in Congo that forced our displacement in the first place. Upon arriving in the UK, we face systemic racism, isolation, and a rise in far-right rhetoric that targets migrants and refugees.
Disability and Migration Network (DAMN) (UK-Wide) @damnetworkuk
Both migrants and disabled people are routinely scapegoated and pinned as inferior by far-right movements and colonial worldviews. They determine a person's value on arbitrary notions of physical ability and productivity. We at DAMN believe that the immigration system disables people, as well as exacerbating existing impairments. We organise for disability justice and migrants' rights for collective liberation.
Global Majority Copwatch (London) @globalmajoritycopwatchuk
As a Global Majority group we are the community primarily under attack from the rise of the far-right and colonial order. With our work focused on police abolition, this is also inherently intertwined with the far-right's dog whistles of 'two tier policing'. We’re seeing that colonial tools, like the rise of facial recognition, the push for Police AI and the integration of Palantir disproportionately impact Global Majority groups.
Migrant Women Press (Glasgow, Scotland) www.migrantwomenpress.com
MWP is led by migrant and racialised women, supported by volunteers and freelancers. Scotland is experiencing an alarming rise in far-right activity, with racist mobs increasingly targeting migrant and racialised communities. Recent attacks in Glasgow city centre saw people of colour assaulted and worshipers forced to shelter inside the Central Mosque for safety. Our aim is to strengthen the power of communities directly affected by systemic inequality to tell their own stories, influence public discourse, and advocate for a more just, inclusive, and accountable media landscape
World Stages Now (Southampton) http://worldstagesnow.org/
We have seen Southampton being hit by riots, killings and aggression. Courage (this years refugee week theme) is needed to challenge these threats. Our members have spent the past 12 years creating a space of care to counter the effects of injustices towards our local communities, providing a platform for expression and adopting performance to bring issues that audiences need to listen to.
Youth Front for Palestine (Birmingham) (@y.f.f.p)
YFFP is led by Palestinian Youth to fight for full Palestinian freedom and an end to Israeli settler-colonialism. Our mission to end British complicity in settler-colonialism is inseparable from building a broader, empowered youth movement. The fight for Palestinian freedom is interconnected with all struggles against imperialism and the rise of far-right sentiment.