Domestic abuse safe accommodation led ‘by and for’ grants fund
In June 2025, the Mayor of London launched his led ‘by and for’ grants fund. This launch marked the first phase of new commissioning under the refreshed DASA Strategy (2025-28), which was published in March 2025.
The fund aims to ensure that that the most marginalised victims/survivors of domestic abuse can access culturally competent, high-quality support that recognises the wider structural barriers that many face on their journey to accessing safety and justice.
It was also designed to meet the key objectives detailed in the DASA strategy, and address safe accommodation provision gaps across London, as identified in the pan-London needs assessment (2024).
The fund closed for applications on 12 August 2025 and applicants have now been notified of the outcome.
The led 'by and for' grants fund attracted significant interest, with a diverse range of competitive applications, including submissions from new organisations not previously funded. This strong response demonstrates that the programme has been both open and accessible. We are pleased to be progressing with awards for both individual and partnership initiatives across London, ensuring the delivery of high-quality DASA services for minoritised victims and survivors. As outlined in the DASA led 'by and for' funding guidance, this fund prioritises services that are specifically designed for, and delivered by, individuals representing the most marginalised communities.
We are proud that the led 'by and for' grants fund is enabling provision for these cohorts of victims and survivors, delivered by organisations rooted in and representing these communities.
You can refer to the funding guidance for further information about the fund, including the eligibility criteria.
Supporting documents
Domestic abuse safe accommodation led ‘by and for’ grants fund - funding guidance (2025)
Contact us
If you have any questions about the grants fund, please get in touch at [email protected].
FAQs
Please click on each question for the full version and further details. These will be updated on a regular basis.
The key change from Lot 2 call off contracts under the DASA framework (2022-2025) is that the funding will be delivered to providers through a grant award, rather than being services that were procured and operating under a contract. The DASA Needs Assessment (2023) found led ‘by and for’ services often struggled to engage with procurement processes. The new funding has therefore been chosen to be awarded through a grants fund, the grants awarded being ring fenced for led ‘by and for organisations’ for better opportunity for these specialist services to access funding. Building on existing good practice and outcomes delivered to date, the grant fund will support the Mayor’s vision that all victims/survivors in London can access vital support regardless of their identity or background.
Any provider who meets the definition of led ‘by and for’ services and the eligibility criteria as outlined within the funding guidance can apply. This is not restricted to those that were on the DASA framework which expired in March 2025. The previous DASA framework has now ended and the DASA led ‘by and for’ fund for eligible providers is the new fund to access DASA funding in London.
Services must meet the definition and eligibility criteria, but yes, applicants can apply to continue or extend current services. During the application process, we will ask if the funding you are applying for is for a new activity or an activity you are continuing or expanding. If the current services are being funded by other funders, any funding requested from this grant programme must not duplicate any funds committed from other sources.
Applicants can apply for direct and indirect costs. The definitions of which are outlined in the financial section of the application form on Flexi Grant.
This criterion is in place to safeguard organisations from potential financial vulnerability to ensure the sustainability of funded activities in line with good financial governance practice. For organisations wishing to apply for funding, which is more than 50% of their annual turnover, a request for further information will be sent to organisations and will be assessed by the Contracts and Grants team.
The annual turnover for the purpose of partnership bids will be considered the total of all members of the partnerships annual turnovers added together. This 50% limit as such will be half of this figure.
Yes, all partners in a partnership application need to meet the eligibility criteria.
Yes, we have a sample application form available for Individual and Partnership applications. Please note we will only accept applications online through Flexigrant. For a copy of the appropriate sample applications forms please contact dasa inbox using the following email address: [email protected]
We are open to being a match funder for relevant services however, we will require organisations to be able to point to the impact of this funding directly, specifically for any reporting, rather than the impact of the project as a whole. Our focus is on the DASA funded activity and impact only. Organisations must provide reassurance they can report in targeted way.
Yes, we consider publicity costs to be indirect whether they are project focused or organisation wide.
MOPAC considers issuing a reasonable Start Fee of 5 percent of the Y1 grant application request to support mobilisation costs. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on successful outcome and whether the application is a New or Existing service.
This criterion is in place to safeguard organisations from potential financial vulnerability to ensure the sustainability of funded activities in line with good financial governance practice. Applications should focus on delivery from 01 April 2026 over a three-year period with no major/significant changes to service delivery in Years 2 to 3. We consider marginal inflationary increases as acceptable requests for Years 2 and 3 if these exceed the 50 percent of annual income at the point of application submission. Budgets will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
For organisations applying as an individual organisation AND within a partnership, the collective annual figure they are requesting from both applications can exceed 50 percent of their annual income. Please do note however that, from the enquiries received to date, we are anticipating significant demand for the partnership element of the funding available.
Please note it is not required to complete the CV section within your online Flexi-grant account, this is not used as part of the assessment process. Please just complete the questions within the online application form.