Getting Ready to Stand

Fund Her

Let Elect Her be your champion as you step forward to represent your community. If you’re from an underrepresented background or experience and are contesting an election, apply for a Fund Her grant to support you with the personal costs of standing.

Our applications for the 2024 elections have now closed.

The challenges facing leaders and policy-makers have never seemed bigger. We urgently need a new generation of women who represent the lived experience of people in the communities they represent, and are capable of building dynamic and positive solutions for the future. But until financial barriers are removed, standing for election remains a dream that is out of reach for many women. 

That's why we work across the political spectrum to fund, train and lift up the voices of underrepresented women as they stand for election.

Our mission is to support a new generation of women into elected office. Working class women, Disabled women and Women of Colour, all of whom have plenty of skills and life experience to draw on, are too often ignored and unheard in political spaces. 

We offer grants which go to women directly to cover personal expenses necessary to engage in the democratic process.

In 2023, we gave out grants to 22 candidates. Grants were typically spent on:

  • Childcare

  • Transport

  • Food

  • Heating or other bills

  • Mobility aids

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for a grant you must be:

  • A woman preparing to be a candidate in an upcoming election

  • Experiencing financial barriers, and/or struggling with personal expenses

  • Actively seeking to address the needs of your community

  • Clear on how being elected would aid you to better address the needs of your community or make the positive change you want to see

Applications from women from a group, background or life experience that is currently underrepresented in politics, including but not limited to women from a minoritised ethnic group or religion, women with disabilities/long-term health conditions and LGBTQIA+ women, will be prioritised in how we will award the grants.

Applications for our 2024 grants have now closed.

Elect Her acknowledges that standing for election can have challenging financial implications for all candidates. On average, women have less access to finances than men, and so these costs present a greater barrier to women's participation in democracy. Due to our limited resources, this fund is targeted at those who are already on a low income or facing other financial challenges, and are from groups, backgrounds or experiences that are underrepresented in our political system as they face the biggest barriers contesting for elections.

If you would like to support Fund Her and directly fund women from underrepresented backgrounds to stand in upcoming elections, please donate to Fund Her today.

Through Equip Her, we train and support women in their diversity to stand for election. 

Fund Her is part of our wider programme of support for candidates, which any woman in Britain is welcome to join. We provide candidates with bespoke skills-training, self-led resources and a supportive community to ensure they run the best election campaign they can.

Over the past 3 years, we have given grants to 65 women candidates and campaigners

Activate developed and managed this grant giving work between 2020-2022, before joining forces with Elect Her to continue the work, under the banner of Fund Her ahead of the 2023 local elections.

Meet some of our previous grantees

Hear why some of our previous grantees put themselves forward for election, and how they used their Fund Her grant to support their election campaign.

  • Growing up on an estate, Cylcia has faced struggles with living costs and racism through her life, and went into politics to be a voice for those who are overlooked and underrepresented. She has been advising the police on racial inequality, addressing discrimination and raising the concerns of her community. She is concerned about council tax increases, the reduction of public services, and the disproportionate impact on low income families. She is also passionate about the needs of young people to be more present in decision making and actively campaigned to keep her local theatre open - a key space for young people in the area. She is currently studying politics and international relations at the LSE while living at home. Cylcia was invited to meet with Prince Charles in her role as Councillor in celebration of Kenyan Independence, which you can read more about here. 

    Cylcia stood for election in May 2023 for the first time aged 19. She applied for Fund Her as she needed professional clothing and shoes for her campaign, and the Fund Her grant helped her with this as well as travel, and acted as a buffer to prevent herself getting further into debt as a result of her campaign. Having been elected following her campaign, this is her first time in elected office.

  • Hetvi is deeply committed to improving her area and has spent years actively setting up  grassroots community projects. Passionate about addressing food poverty in light of the rising cost of living, Hetvi set up a food bank, which has grown and is now in its third year, and with over 40 volunteers. Hetvi has brought together businesses, schools and volunteers to donate to improve the lives of homeless and vulnerable people in her area, and campaigned for a pedestrian crossing at a local school. After working to influence from the outside, she decided to stand for election to bring about meaningful change from inside the political system. She is even praised by her opponents on social media who can't fault her commitment! 

    Hetvi applied for the Fund Her grant to help with childcare, digital equipment, and clothing suitable for the election campaign.