Stand with Us Fund

The Stand With Us fund (SWU) addresses the critical lack of investment in frontline organisations supporting women and girls who experience male violence in the UK. Originally set up using money raised by Reclaim the Streets in the wake of the appalling kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer in 2021, SWU supports individual organisations to become stronger and more sustainable, and strengthens the network of violence against women and girls (VAWG) organisations working across the UK through: 

• Organisational development grants of up to £25,000 for up to 12 months, funding areas including strategy, governance, leadership, alliance building, fundraising, systems and processes. 
• A high-quality programme of training and networking opportunities, which aims to build capacity and resilience in the sector.

STAND WITH US – ROUNDS 1 and 2

Thanks to your support, we have successfully run two rounds of the Stand With Us fund. The first round awarded £510,000 through 25 grants in 2022. A second round of the fund opened for applications in June and July 2024. In December 2025, we were pleased to announce the distribution of £537,322 in grants to 23 organisations. Of these, 50% are led by-and-for Black and racially minoritised women and girls, and 54% are operating in the top 10% of the most disadvantaged areas of the UK.

See the announcement here.

Alongside grants of up to £25k, organisations received access to a free, high-quality programme of networking and training opportunities, helping them build community, capacity and skills in areas including governance, social media, fundraising, safeguarding, finance and leadership.

The current round of SWU funded projects are ongoing, due for completion at the end of the 2025, so we will publish a full impact report for round 2  in Spring 2026. But from the interim reports grant holders submitted we can already see SWU's significant impact these organisations – and the women and girls they support:

• Over 10,000 women and girls have already benefitted– nearly matching the number of beneficiaries in total from round one of the fund.
• Grant holders have noted their organisations’ foundations strengthened, feeling better prepared to sustain and grow under the pressing challenges of reduced funding and resources, and rising need.
• New strategic partnerships flourished as SWU provided leaders with the time and space for collaboration, strengthening the women and girls sector as a whole.

STORY OF IMPACT

Quetzal is a Leicester-based charity offering free, trauma-informed counselling and support to women recovering from childhood sexual abuse. In November 2024, a Stand With Us grant allowed the organisation to hire a part-time Operations Manager, giving CEO Deborah Knight vital headspace for strategic planning. “The real impact is, with time, you can see where the best opportunities are,” she says.

With Rosa funding, Quetzal maximised its team's strengths and developed valuable income streams. These included launching an in-house counselling course, finding opportunities for paid advisory work, and transforming unused office space into a virtual charity shop. While none of these ventures alone ensure sustainability, Knight says, they “all have the dual benefit of mission and income”. This flexibility helps reduce reliance on grants. “These ideas have been floating around for a while,” Knight explains, “but without the space to properly assess and plan, we’ve struggled to get them off the ground.”

WHAT'S NEXT?

We are proud of the impact Stand With Us has delivered to date, but  we know our work to make the UK safer for all women and girls is not done.  As women and girls organisations face rising levels and complexity of need against a backdrop of decreased funding, Stand With Us is more important than ever. 

So, funding permitted, we aim to open a third round of Stand with Us n Spring 2026, distributing a minimum of 25 grants of up to £25k by autumn 2026. Alongside funding, grant holders will receive free training and networking opportunities, shaped around the needs and skills gaps they’ve identified.  

Links:

• Rosa's website
• Stand With Us (Round 1) Impact Report
• Rosa's new strategy