A meeting of the Bedfordshire and Luton Funders Network took place on 7th April 2022 by Zoom with 11 of the county’s funders represented.
The Network had invited Sabah Giliani OBE from the Better Community Business Network (bcbn.org.uk) to present information about the Muslim Minds Collaboration.

The Muslim Mind Collaborative (MMC) has been formed as a result of years of research conducted into the Mental Health and Wellbeing of British Muslims and drawing on academia, statutory services, community practitioners, faith leaders and faith-led psychotherapy services. Their aim is to widen the parameters of the agenda on Mental Health to consider the needs of faith communities and service users of Muslim background. The Collaborative is open for funding organisations and mental health and well-being support services to join to help identify the funding gap and opportunities, and enhance the role of charities, philanthropists, and beneficial partnerships to support collaborative work, increase engagement, representation, and outreach. More information is available on this link.

The Network shared information on how different funders were approaching the Ukranian Refugee Crisis, the Green Agenda, and news about upcoming funds. The members also discussed data sharing, and agreed to a short research project to establish how much funding had been provided in Bedfordshire, and to how many groups, in the past two years.

The Bedfordshire Funders Network meets three times a year. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to be on the mailing list for future meetings.