The Legal Education Foundation

Emerging Justice fund

Funding from The Legal Education Foundation for 'by and for' community organisations campaigning on human rights or equality that want to explore adding the law to their work. Short-term scoping grants of up to £50,000 for up to 12 months can be applied for at any time, with free access to a legal adviser if needed; larger grants of £50,000 to £75,000 a year for up to three years test a new legal approach or partnership.

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: £50,000 – £75,000; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Moderate; full application with documents

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, the organisation must be 'by and for' the communities it serves: lived experience among trustees or committees and senior staff, and wider ways of building power among the people affected
It should be working to protect and promote rights and equality and campaigning for wider change, with some understanding of the law on its issues but not yet using or shaping the law as a tool for change
Organisations that already use the law should look at the Strengthening Justice fund

What it funds

Short-term scoping grants (up to £50,000, up to 12 months) for small, specific pieces of work that may lead to a longer-term grant, for example:

Identifying a possible legal partner
Working with a partner to develop a legal strategy
Understanding the law relevant to your campaign and identifying potential changes and opportunities to influence
Grants for testing a new legal approach or partnership (£50,000-£75,000 a year for up to three years), for example:
Using the law, including complaints to ombudsmen and public sector equality duty challenges, to hold institutions to account
Influencing the legislative process on your campaign issue to improve the law
Contributing to strategic litigation
Grants can fund any costs, including staff time (new or existing), volunteer expenses, legal fees or consultancy, event costs including participation expenses, venue hire and catering, and overheads

LEF is unlikely to fund specific legal cases, and will not normally fund more than 50% of your organisation's annual income for the longer grants. Free access to a legal adviser is offered if you do not have one.

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

Read the grants programmes and funding criteria pages, and watch the July 2026 webinar for potential applicants
Take the short eligibility quiz on LEF's application portal
Register on the application portal with your name, organisation and contact details (LEF can create an account for you if you have difficulty)
Optionally book a call with the grants team through the portal (not part of the assessment)
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
Submit through the portal
If shortlisted: a meeting with the grants team, then a second stage application with more financial information about your current year
Final decision by the Grants and Learning Committee (three LEF trustees and three external members)

scoping grants under £50,000 can be submitted at any time and are normally considered four times a year, decided by the grants team after shortlisting. Applications over £50,000 can also be submitted at any time but are decided in two windows a year (the last cut-off was 17 September 2026; the next has 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.

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