Amal’s founding donors

In April, we were delighted to receive the wonderful news that the last piece in Amal’s start-up funding jigsaw was in place.

Following our establishment as an independent charity in August 2020, we embarked on a fundraising drive.  Generous funding from our founding organisation, the Saïd Foundation, had already been pledged but was dependent on raising initial matching funding from other donors.  This was not a straightforward task given all the barriers to fundraising that the Covid-19 crisis had thrown up and also because Amal is a new kind of proposition for donors, the only organisation taking an all-arts approach to tackling the structural inequality of Britain’s Muslim communities.

We realised that we therefore had to start building donor support with funders who are strongly committed to working through the arts for greater diversity, equity and inclusion and have a deep understanding of the kind of work we do.  And it is indeed two funders with huge experience in this field who have joined the Saïd Foundation as our founding donors.  Paul Hamlyn Foundation pledged its support in March and Esmée Fairbairn Foundation in April.  Between them, our initial matching funding target was achieved enabling Amal to relaunch with our new Amal Connects cornerstone programme.

To our founding donors, and on behalf of every future participant and partner in our work, we send our deepest thanks.