Lewisham Council offers several microgrant programmes. These run annually for Tamil Heritage Month, Lunar New Year, LGBTQ+ History Month, International Women's Day, Windrush Day, Refugee Week, Borough of Sanctuary, East and Southeast Asian Heritage Month, and Black History Month.
Small Grant Funds Open Now
Borough of Sanctuary 2026 – Small Grants up to £1,500
As the UK’s first Borough of Sanctuary, we welcome those fleeing violence and persecution in their own countries and protect the rights of all migrants, asylum seekers and refugees.
We are offering small grants of up to £1,500 to support individuals living or working in Lewisham and local organisations to develop their own projects to support this work.
We expect to fund at least seven projects, perhaps more depending on the size of grants requested.
Applications must relate one or more of the key Borough of Sanctuary objectives:
1. Reducing barriers to access and inequalities experienced by people seeking sanctuary (refugees, people seeking asylum and people with no recourse to public funds - NRPF)
Examples of activities: food and gardening projects, access to clothes and essentials, training of interpreter volunteers and volunteers with lived experience, outreach work to encourage sanctuary seeker participation, support around digital exclusion and employability
2. Promoting belonging, connectedness and wellbeing of sanctuary seekers and solidarity between different communities
Examples of activities: community meals and events, food growing, exercise and volunteering, cultural activities, trips, art and crafts, buddy systems, family activities, peer support groups
3. Promoting sanctuary seeker voice, educating Lewisham residents about issues relating to migration, forced displacement and sanctuary
Examples of activities: storytelling or poetry events, exhibitions, performances, lived experience forums, panels or surveys, inviting speakers with lived experience to your organisations
If you have any questions, or need more information, there is an online Q&A session open to all on Tuesday 16 Dec at 13:00 - 14:00 - Meeting link
Meeting ID: 318 189 037 072 88
Passcode: NA3H829W
For further information and to apply, please see the application form. If you have read through the application document and have further questions, please contact BoroughofSanctuary@lewisham.gov.uk
Applications close 23:59 on Thursday 22 January 2026.
To see and download the information and the application questions in a word document, click here.