GrantRadar

The Legal Education Foundation

Strengthening Justice fund

Flexible, multi-year funding from The Legal Education Foundation for UK organisations already using and shaping the law with the communities they serve, such as through judicial review, influencing legislation, strategic litigation or legal inquiries. It is not project funding: grants of £50,000 to £100,000 a year over three to five years can cover any costs related to the organisation's work on the law. Decisions favour organisations that are accountable to their communities and that use the law to drive wider change.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£50,000 – £100,000
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Organisations doing charitable work in the UK; you do not have to be a registered charity
  • Applicants need some structure, such as a constitution that sets out how decisions are made, and access to a bank account with two signatories (this may be through a partner organisation)
  • LEF prioritises small and medium-sized organisations, usually under £2m annual income, which may struggle to find funding elsewhere, and would not normally be your first funder
  • It is unlikely to fund organisations based outside the UK, with fewer than three trustees, company directors or partners, with more general reserves than their reserves policy sets out, or in serious financial deficit (contact LEF if one of these applies but you meet the other criteria)
  • Organisations with a Strengthening Justice or Emerging Justice application rejected in the past 12 months cannot reapply, and organisations with live Stronger Sector or Fairer Systems grants are not expected to be funded except as continuation funding
  • For this fund, applicants must prioritise accountability to their communities (at minimum, regularly consulting communities about their priorities and sharing power with them; for example a 'by and for' organisation, one with lived and learned experience among trustees and staff, or a membership organisation) and already use the law to address systemic injustice
  • Organisations on a journey towards accountability are more likely to be funded if LEF has supported them before. 'By and for' organisations not yet using the law should look at the Emerging Justice fund

What it funds

Flexible grants over 3 to 5 years to support your work related to the law, which can fund any costs, including but not limited to:

  • Staff time (new or existing)
  • Volunteer expenses
  • Legal fees or consultancy
  • Court expenses
  • Event costs including participation expenses, venue hire and catering
  • Governance costs
  • Overheads

LEF will not normally fund more than 35% of your organisation's annual income. You do not request a specific amount or length of grant at first stage; this is discussed if you are shortlisted.

What it will not fund

  • Projects to develop or manage pro bono legal advice
  • Individuals or groups of individuals
  • Organisations without access to a bank account with two signatories
  • Projects related to commercial law
  • Work on criminal or environmental law, except alongside other areas of civil law (such as discrimination in the criminal legal system)
  • Work purely on immigration law (LEF funds this through Justice Together)
  • Work on specific pieces of litigation
  • Awards, prizes or one-off events that are not part of a broader programme of support
  • Projects where the grant would directly replace or subsidise government, legal profession or university funding, including the costs of law clinics
  • Statutory organisations
  • Capital expenditure on buildings and vehicles
  • Work that does not have a direct benefit in the UK
  • Work that has already taken place
  • Work outside the Charity Commission guidance on campaigning and political activity
  • Organisations or approaches not aligned with LEF's values
  • Organisations that had a Strengthening Justice or Emerging Justice application rejected in the past 12 months
  • Promotion of religion

How to apply

  1. Read the grants programmes and funding criteria pages, and watch the July 2026 webinar for potential applicants
  2. Take the short eligibility quiz on LEF's application portal
  3. Register on the application portal with your name, organisation and contact details (LEF can create an account for you if you have difficulty)
  4. Optionally book a call with the grants team through the portal (not part of the assessment)
  5. Tell LEF how you meet its criteria in one of three ways: upload existing documents (such as an application to another funder) or links, complete the short online application form, or send video content
  6. Submit through the portal
  7. If shortlisted: a meeting with the grants team, then a second stage application with more financial information about your current year
  8. Final decision by the Grants and Learning Committee (three LEF trustees and three external members)

applications can be submitted at any time, but there are two decision windows a year. The most recent cut-off was 17 September 2026 (decisions at the end of December 2026); dates for the next window have not yet been published.

Have ready

  • Most recent accounts (if not publicly available)
  • Governing document, such as a constitution or Memorandum of Association (if not publicly available)

Word and PDF versions of the application form can be downloaded from the how-to-apply page; existing documents or video can be sent instead of the form.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.