Combatting Hate Against Muslims
This grant will support the work of an organisation or a consortium of organisations who wish to map a more accurate record of hate incidents affecting Muslims across England. The reporting system should allow for, and encourage, the recording of both hate crimes and non-crime hate incidents that occur online or in the real world. Grant recipients will be expected to analyse such reports to identify the trends and drivers behind such occurrences. Grant recipients should also be able to support victims of hate, as some particularly those from minority backgrounds, may be unwilling to report incidents to the police.
- Opening date:
- Closing date: (Midnight)
Contents
Summary
All forms of religious and racial hatred have absolutely no place in our society. No one should be targeted because of the colour of their skin, or their faith or beliefs. British Muslims are a crucial part of Britain’s history and British life today but all too often they are made to feel unwelcome in their own country.
The urgency in addressing this was brought into sharp focus in violent disorder witnessed during the summer of 2024, which saw Muslim communities targeted and attacks on mosques. Making sure that British Muslims are not only safe, but also feel safe, is one of the government’s top priorities. The government also recognises that non-Muslims are also frequently misidentified and suffer as victims of intended anti-Muslim hate.
Up to date information on the scale, location, and drivers of anti-Muslim hate incidents will help the government effectively combat this. The successful grant applicant will help to illustrate and evidence the scale of anti-Muslim hatred across England, as well as providing support for the victims of anti-Muslim hatred.
According to the latest police-recorded hate crime statistics for the year ending March 2024, almost 2 in 5 (38%) of all religious hate crimes targeted Muslims, an increase of 13% when compared to the previous year. The successful grant applicant will play a key role in helping government better understand the scale and causes of anti-Muslim hate crimes and non-crime hate incidents, as well as playing an instrumental role helping to combat them.
The key objectives for the grant recipient will be to:
· Receive, record and analyse instances of anti-Muslim hate
· Increase awareness of what a hate crime is, willingness to report it and the options available to those that witness or experience anti-Muslim hate
· Make it easier for those that have been subject to anti-Muslim hate to report their experience
· Monitor, record and report on online anti-Muslim hate
· Facilitate appropriate support for victims
Eligibility
There is no minimum bid threshold. However we do expect bids to be of suitable quality and substance to meet the objectives of the grant, as set out in the prospectus.
We are open to applications from any non-profit distributing organisation that has a track record of supporting victims of crime or discrimination, particularly Muslims or has capability to do so.
The grant recipient will be expected to deliver outcomes across England, but bids are welcome from consortia of existing organisations which have a local, regional or national focus.
We want to support and empower existing services so that more people who have experienced anti-Muslim hate crime can access the advice and support they need when they need it, regardless of who they are and where they live.
We are interested in applications from existing third party reporting centres who want to expand their services, general victim-of-crime services who are looking to establish, improve or extend their specialist support to victims of hate crime but also welcome innovative approaches from other organisations.
To apply for this funding your organisation must:
· Be able to demonstrate it has or will be able to gain the trust of Muslims and their communities
· Be willing to work constructively with MHCLG and other government and public sector bodies to provide progress reports, insight and advice regularly and on an ad-hoc basis
· Be willing to share anonymised data with MHCLG
· Be willing to record and monitor instances of anti-Muslim hate crime in such a way that is consistent with the government's working definition of anti-Muslim or Islamophobia, should the government choose to adopt a definition in future
· Be aligned with government values concerning hate crime, extremism, community cohesion, the value of inter-faith work
· Be able to demonstrate robust and transparent governance arrangements
· Be able to demonstrate appropriate safeguarding policies when working with children or vulnerable adults
· Disclose information of all government funding received and applied for in the last 2 years, including any funding received for other projects and purposes
· Not bring your organisation or the government into disrepute (however this does not mean that your organisation will be prevented from making reasonable comments and criticism of government and policy)
Due diligence will be undertaken on applicant organisations and consortium members to ensure that they will not bring the government into disrepute in the event of grant funding being awarded. This includes checking their financial standing and any adverse media or matters of reputational concern relating to applicants or consortium members.
Objectives
The key objectives for the grant recipient will be to:
· Receive, record and analyse instances of anti-Muslim hate
· Increase awareness of what a hate crime is, willingness to report it and the options available to those that witness or experience anti-Muslim hate
· Make it easier for those that have been subject to anti-Muslim hate to report their experience
· Monitor, record and report on online anti-Muslim hate
· Facilitate appropriate support for victims
Dates
Registrations for grant funding: 2 April 2025
Applications open for organisations who registered: 7 April 2025
Deadline for applications: 18 May 2025
Successful candidate notified: June 2025
Funding awarded: June 2025
Delivery of your project must be completed by 31 March 2028 and you must have paid all your costs by this date.
How to apply
To apply for funding, you must register for the Combatting Hate Against Muslims fund. You will then be invited to complete the application form, which will be available from 7 April 2025.
Applicants will be required to submit a detailed business plan as well as provide answers to questions related to the criteria in the Business Plan Checklist.