The Berkeley Foundation, the independent charitable foundation established by Berkeley Group, has announced five new Resilience Fund partnerships, committing £450,000 over three years to youth charities across South and East London that support young people to build confidence, develop leadership skills and influence positive change in their communities.
The five organisations – Poetic Unity (based in Brixton) and Build Up, Leaders in Community (LiC), My Life My Say and Social Ark (based in East London) – work with young people affected by racism and Islamophobia, helping them strengthen their voices, challenge inequality and take action on the issues that matter most to them locally.
• Poetic Unity creates spaces for learning, expression and joy through poetry, predominantly for young people of Black and mixed-Black heritage aged 10–30.
• Build Up supports young people to design and build public spaces, helping them take ownership of their neighbourhoods and have a say in the decisions shaping London.
• LiC provides youth-led training to build personal resilience, overcome barriers to progression and challenge inequality.
• My Life My Say works to improve democratic participation through its flagship Democracy Cafés, connecting young people with policymakers and encouraging them to vote Social Ark supports young people from under-resourced communities to develop social businesses that drive systemic change.
Each organisation will receive £90,000 over three years, alongside access to the Berkeley Foundation’s bespoke learning and evaluation programme, designed to strengthen organisational resilience and share best practice among charities.
Launched in 2021, the Resilience Fund was created in response to rapidly increasing financial pressures and operational demands faced by small and medium-sized charities as the UK emerged from the pandemic. Over the past four years, the Foundation has committed more than £1.2million through the Resilience Fund programme alone, providing multi-year grants and tailored support to help charity partners strengthen their foundations and deliver long-term goals.
This year marks the fourth cohort of the programme and includes an increase in the maximum grant size to £90,000, delivered over a three-year period. The extended timeframe is intended to give organisations greater time and flexibility to embed resilience into their culture.
The 2026 programme supports charities working with young people across Hackney, Newham, Brixton and Tower Hamlets, helping them to build leadership skills, strengthen their voices and create positive change in their lives and communities.
Sally Dickinson, head of Berkeley Foundation, said: “We’re proud to support these organisations, each of which plays a vital role in East and South London’s youth ecosystems. This funding will help ensure they remain resilient and continue providing essential opportunities for young people to lead change in their communities.”
Ryan J. Matthews-Robinson, founder & CEO of Poetic Unity, said: “It’s amazing to be in partnership with Berkeley Foundation. The funding and organisational support they will provide us for the next three years is going to be transformational and I’m excited to collaborate with the other charities on our cohort to grow and learn from each other.”
Syed Uddin, CEO of Leaders in Community (LiC), said: “LiC is very honoured and grateful to the Berkeley Foundation for this much needed three-year grant. In our 15th birthday year, it is very fitting that we will get the operational and capacity support we need to make an even greater impact for disadvantaged young people and the communities that we serve in Tower Hamlets.”
