Black History 365 Grants 2026

The deadline for Black History 365 applications is 5pm, Thursday 7 May. Projects will need to take place from July - December 2026.

Over 2025-26 Wandsworth Council has been awarded the title of London Borough of Culture by the Mayor of London. Our vision for London Borough of Culture is to harness the power of culture to transform our residents’ lives in terms of health, happiness and equality of opportunity. Celebrating the heritage of our African and Caribbean communities is a key part of Wandsworth’s year as London Borough of Culture and its legacy programme, and thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund we are delighted to be able to offer this grants programme for 2026.

Black History Month is celebrated across October in the UK, but we think African and Caribbean history, culture and heritage should be celebrated all year round, so, in addition to extensive programme of events in October, we are delivering Black History 365.

Aims and objectives

We will be sharing the stories and experiences of people of African or Caribbean heritage who live, work or study in the borough to recognise the outstanding contribution that people of the African diaspora have made in shaping our borough. We want:

• Heritage practitioners of African and Caribbean heritage and/or Black-led organisations to contribute to the cultural agenda of the borough;
• Residents of African and Caribbean heritage to engage in heritage activity that is meaningful and relevant to them;
• The wider community to better understand the histories of fellow residents, colleagues and students making a positive difference in Wandsworth, and be inspired by them.

Projects should also link to the London Borough of Culture programme five key themes, harnessing the power of culture to: 

• CONNECT: Connect people to life-changing experiences – opening the doors to creative jobs, discovering heritage and meeting people where they are, so that we can fall in love with arts and culture.
• UNITE: Unite, because we are better together, united by or aspiration to imagine a brighter future for people, communities and our borough.
• HEAL: Because building a celebration of history of the diverse communities into healthcare helps us thrive. By approaching wellbeing holistically, culture can support people body and soul, to live better.
• NOURISH: Creating the conditions for young people to express their creativity, their heritage and be part of their communities.
• ACTIVATE: Inspiring people through culture to take real steps to reduce pollution and their carbon footprint; reconnecting people with sustainable living and the natural environment.

In 2026 we are especially interested in receiving applications from projects taking place across three key focus areas for the borough:

• Winstanley & York Road Estates (Battersea)
• Nine Elms (Battersea)
• Alton Estate (Roehampton)

Commissioning fee and timeframe

We are seeking proposals from organisations that can deliver community focused heritage-based activities and events. We are able to offer commission fees of between £500 and £2,000 (excluding VAT) to support the development of content or programming for Black History 365 between July 2026 to December 2026. 

Key Criteria

Priority will be given to proposals which demonstrate the following:

• Close alignment with African or Caribbean history, culture and heritage
• Delivery by an organisation whose strategic plans involve engaging with the borough and its residents over the mid to long term
• Live events must take place within the borough
• All projects must have participatory elements and demonstrate targeting and engagement with Wandsworth communities
• Clear benefits to the local community e.g. through participation, enjoyment, skills development, health and wellbeing improvements, learning, progression routes etc, and how you will demonstrate this
• Target beneficiaries - making specific reference to your target beneficiaries and specify the methods you will use to reach them and how you will measure their engagement.
• Value for money

What is considered a Heritage Project?

Heritage can be anything from the past that you value and want to pass on to future generations. Projects can include:

• Oral history recordings of people’s stories, memories and songs, as a way of communicating and revealing the past.
• Cultural traditions exploring the history of different cultures through storytelling, or things that you do as part of your community. This could be anything from dance and theatre to food or clothing. It could also include the heritage of languages and dialects.
• Commemorations and celebrations – telling the stories and histories of people, communities, places or events related to specific times and dates.
• Nature – works to improve habitats or conserve species, as well as helping people to connect to nature in their daily lives.
• Designed landscapes – improving and conserving historic landscapes such as public parks, historic gardens and botanical gardens.
• Historic buildings, monuments and the historic environment – from houses and mills to caves and gardens. Areas that are connected to history and heritage.
• Community archaeology involves the active participation of volunteers in archaeological activities, everything from investigating, photographing, surveying, excavation and finds processing. Sometimes it is called public archaeology.
• Museums, libraries and archives – making the collections that the council, libraries, archives and local museums hold more accessible through new exhibitions or engaging people with interpreting new and existing collections.
• Industrial, maritime and transport – places and objects linked to our industrial, maritime and transport history.

Guidelines

When considering whether to submit a proposal or not, please take into consideration the following: 

1. Permissions for publicity

All Black History 365 projects must credit Wandsworth Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Welcome To Wandsworth London Borough of Culture on their marketing, media and PR content. Selected projects must commit to share their copy, logo and a selection of high-quality images with the Council at least 6 weeks prior to all events taking place so that they can be included in the Council’s publicity campaigns.  Where there is digital activity, the Council will reserve the right to have digital content links available on wandsworth.gov.uk, welcometowandsworth.com and all its social media channels. 

2. Accessibility

How will you promote your event to make sure it reaches the whole community? 

How will people attend your event (e.g. is the venue accessible? is it easy to get to? etc.). Please consider that live and online events will have different requirements around accessibility.

Have you considered what may be barriers to engagement, and how will you address them?

3. Event permissions 

Please ensure that you have all necessary permissions, venues and licences for your event to go ahead.

Have questions about your application? 

Register for one of our Q & A and Meet The Funder Sessions for Black History 365 Grants

• Wed 18 March, 3.30pm - 4.30pm
• Thu 23 April, 10.30am - 11.30am
• Thu 7 May, 10.30am - 11.30am

Book now

Application deadline

Please complete the below online application form and excel budget sheet to give us details about your proposal. Please submit both by 5pm, Thursday 7 May 2026. If you have any queries about the commission or process, please email as above.

Please note, the Council will notify all organisations who have submitted a proposal to let them know whether they have been successful or not w/c 22nd June 2026

Image credit: Made You Look exhibition - Battersea Arts Centre 2025. Photographer Rebecca Cresta.