Meeting the moment: resourcing hope, solidarity and justice

Across the UK, civil society are operating in a context of rising division, economic uncertainty and declining trust in institutions. Local tensions are rising, political narratives are hardening, misinformation is spreading quickly, and communities are navigating pressures that are complex, layered and in many places getting worse. At the same time, communities, organisers and grassroots groups continue to show remarkable leadership - building connection, countering harmful narratives, and offering alternative visions of belonging, justice and repair.

This opening panel asks what this moment demands of funders. Drawing on insights from Protection Approaches, who have been working with funders and local authorities on how funding strategies need to respond to rising division and instability, Systemic Justice, whose cross-border strategic litigation and organising work is resisting racism and assaults on democracy , and the Civic Power Fund, who have been convening funders to think through what acting with clarity and courage looks like right now. The session will explore three questions together: What are communities and organisers already doing to counter hate and division, and what does properly resourcing that work require? What can we learn from funders already shifting their strategies toward justice, root causes and long-term solidarity? And how do we act together, at a moment when division is being actively fuelled and the conditions for change are difficult?

This session will be particularly relevant if you are thinking about how to act with clarity and purpose in a moment of rising division and understand what solidarity funding looks like in practice.