Nation of Sanctuary Croeso Fund

The Nation of Sanctuary Croeso Fund provides vital support for people displaced by conflict and/or persecution from foreign countries, who are seeking sanctuary* in Wales.

*The City of Sanctuary prefers the term ‘people seeking sanctuary’ in most contexts, as this focusses on people first as opposed to their immigration status. It emphasises that people are seeking sanctuary (safety and protection), not specifically asylum and so has a broader application.

We will prioritise applications from groups who can demonstrate a strong knowledge and understanding of working within in this field longer term.  This Fund cannot support groups working within already established and settled minority communities or groups looking to work with people seeking sanctuary that do not have a track record of doing so.

Prior to opening the fund for the first round in 2022, we spoke to groups working with people seeking sanctuary in Wales to find out what the most critical needs for support were. The Fund will support gaps where other funding is not otherwise available, or where increased demand evidences the need for expansion of a service.
Our learning highlighted the most urgent and increased needs for people seeking sanctuary as:

• Addressing the trauma people seeking sanctuary face, by providing emotional support to improve mental health and wellbeing

• Support with integration and a sense of belonging

Therefore, the Nation of Sanctuary Croeso Fund is seeking applications from groups already working with people seeking sanctuary to provide support services to address these critical issues. For example:

• Befriending services
• Interpretation/language services
• Community/hub activities for people seeking sanctuary and their families to come together
• Trauma/emotional support

NB. this list is not exhaustive, it is meant to demonstrate the type of projects this fund will support.

Organisations with an annual income of under £500,000 can apply for grants of up to £10,000 per year for up to 3 years.

We recognise how important it is for groups to be able to plan for the future and that having secure funding can give you the confidence and reassurance to develop your project over the long-term. Nation of Sanctuary Croeso Fund offers groups the opportunity to apply for single year or multi-year funding of up to 3 years. To be considered for a three-year grant please complete the additional section of the application form, indicating how you plan to develop your project over the period of funding being applied for. Your application will still be considered for one year funding if you are not successful with a multi-year award.

We cannot currently fund:

• Bursary projects that provide onward grants/cash/equipment to individuals
• Groups who work with beneficiaries from diverse backgrounds only and are not working specifically with people seeking sanctuary
• Food/supplies/equipment/clothing projects where items are distributed to individuals/families – we have other funds that will, please look at our grants page here for information on other funding available

This Fund is open to constituted community-based charities and organisations specifically working with people seeking sanctuary in Wales. These include:

1.    Constituted Groups/Unincorporated Association
2.    Registered Charities & Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIO)
3.    Not for Profit Companies Limited by Guarantee
4.    Community Interest Companies
5.    Social Enterprises