What is the Fairer Futures Fund?

Launched in 2022, the Fairer Futures Fund will see a total £21.95m being allocated to new community-based innovative projects across Birmingham and Solihull with funding being distributed up until the end of the 2026/27 financial year.

The Fund forms part of our strategic vision to radically transform how health and social care services are delivered in Birmingham and Solihull, integrating services so they are delivered as close as possible to citizens’ homes and shifting our focus towards preventing ill-health.

It funds projects either led by or run in collaboration with the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector that will support our efforts to reduce inequalities in health.  Projects are diverse and are being delivered at a grassroots level in the heart of communities – focused on those most underrepresented and underserved who are often facing disparities in health.

Our Birmingham and Solihull Place Committees - made up of representatives across the NHS, local authorities and the VCFSE sector - have responsibility for allocating these funds.  Their specific remit is to act with autonomy and ensure decisions are made strategically, locally, and in the best interests of the health and care needs of the local population.

The small grant scheme was the first slice of the Fairer Futures Fund to be launched in Birmingham and Solihull. Launching this part of the fund first enabled smaller-scale investments to make a meaningful impact quickly in communities or groups where it is needed most.  Grants of up to £10,000 were made available to VCFSE sector organisations through the scheme, with 32 awarded in Birmingham and 22 in Solihull.

The small grants were followed by the allocation of the Fairer Futures Fund’s £1.6m Solihull Early Implementers Scheme which has funded three major projects which are currently underway in Solihull to improve health and care for residents.

Delivered through - and with the VCFSE sector - the projects particularly focus on improving the lives of those who are the most vulnerable; hard to reach; and suffer the greatest health disparities.

The three large projects funded are:

  • Health in the Hearts of the Community Programme - spearheaded by Colebridge Trust working with Three Trees, Cars Area Together and Amba care solutions.  The project, which has received almost £400,000 from the Fairer Futures Fund, focuses on improving heart and lung health to prevent and manage conditions including cardiovascular disease (CVD), dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) whilst also improving other aspects of population health and access to services. 
  • Solihull Family Hubs which will see Solihull Council working with various VCFSE and health organisations. The award of almost £600,000 from the Fairer Futures Fund will drive key elements of transformational change that are critical to the success of the borough’s four Family Hubs and Early Help offer by promoting new models of integrated working; maximising value; developing innovative solutions; driving community engagement and co-production; fostering leadership in the VCFSE sector; and testing and evaluation of new approaches.
  • Support for Young People with health and wellbeing needs in North Solihull - led by Ordinary Magic working with Urban Heard, Inclusive Sports and Meriden Adventure Playground.  This project, which has received almost £540,000 from the Fairer Futures Fund, will develop an integrated model of wellbeing support across North Solihull, making health and wellbeing services for children and families more accessible and enabling partners to work together.  The three-year project will use the digital platform, JoyApp, as a gateway to local services. The app will act like a ‘marketplace’ - providing professionals with better connection and improved knowledge of services locally as well as availability and direct referrals of services for families with one or two areas of need.

Early Autumn 2024 will see the distribution of Citywide Small Grants, being made available via Fairer Futures Fund for projects in Birmingham.  A total of £2.46 million is available through the Citywide Small Grants, with organisations in Birmingham having been able to bid for up to £15,000 per year, or up to a maximum of £45,000 for individual projects over a three-year delivery period.  The Citywide Small Grants scheme is being distributed in partnership with Heart of England Community Foundation.

A range of new opportunities are being made available in 2024 and beyond to apply to the Fairer Futures Fund for organisations working in partnership between the public and VCFSE sectors across Birmingham and Solihull.