Borough of Sanctuary Fund

As a Borough of Sanctuary, we are committed to ensuring sanctuary seekers feel welcomed and supported and are valued members of the community.

The voluntary and community sector play a key part in helping to deliver this welcoming environment for those seeking to build new lives in the borough. For this reason, we have created the Borough of Sanctuary Fund to support groups which work with refugees and asylum seekers.

Grants

The Borough of Sanctuary Fund was created as part of the Borough of Sanctuary Strategy and is intended to provide funding of up to £10,000 to local initiatives that support sanctuary seekers in Wandsworth. This could either be launching a new project or developing and expanding an existing project or service.

Larger grants may be considered in exceptional circumstances where a clear need can be demonstrated.

Priorities

The fund has four priorities it will support projects under:

1. Celebrating refugees and asylum seekers – projects which promote the contribution that refugees and asylum seekers make to the borough
2. Wellbeing – supporting activities which promote refugees and asylum seeker’s wellbeing
3. Expanding organisational capacity – supporting initiatives that build the capacity of the voluntary and community sector to deliver support to asylum seekers and refugees
4. Community integration support – helping new and recent refugees and asylum seeker arrivals to the borough to integrate into life in the UK and their local community

Further details on these themes and other aspects of the application process are included in the fund guidance notes.

Applying for funding

You are welcome to contact the Refugee Services team at any time throughout the year to submit an expression of interest, request more information or ask for informal feedback on a draft application.

Application dates

Round 4 of the Borough of Sanctuary Fund opened on Friday 14 March 2025 and closed on Sunday 6 April 2025.

Decisions and funding will be released in May/June 2025.

The next round of funding will be announced in due course.

How to apply 

To apply:

1. Read the fund guidance notes 
2. Complete the fund application form

After funding is agreed, you will need to complete and return:

• Terms and conditions
• Grant acceptance form

At the conclusion of your project we will ask you to complete a monitoring report on the outcomes.

Other funding

For details of other funding available, see Other funding opportunities for voluntary and community organisations.

Approved projects

• Borough of Sanctuary Community Fund Round 1 recipients
• Borough of Sanctuary Community Fund Round 2 recipients
• Borough of Sanctuary Community Fund Round 3 recipients

Contact

Any questions about the application process can be sent to boroughofsanctuary@wandsworth.gov.uk.