GirlDreamer was born from the dreams of two best friends who, despite external expectations to conform, found the courage to pursue their vision.
In 2016, we made the bold decision to bring GirlDreamer to fruition, by hosting our first event called ‘Girls Night In’. The aim of this event was to provide a safe, free and enjoyable environment where women could turn up after the working day and relax, meet new people and be themselves. Without knowing it at the time, it was essentially a third space.
In total, we spent £40 of our own money (as we had no funding or jobs at the time) and made a giant bowl of guacamole to serve with tortilla chips for arrival and also cooked a big pot of rice paired with raita for mains – along with some mojitos of course! It was giving home movie, sleepover, 90s vibes and we loved hosting these nights every 6 weeks, each one with a different theme.
In hosting these nights we came to realise just how much impact we were having on women in the city and how important the space became. In our minds we kept reiterating “we’re doing this with 20, 30 quid – imagine if we had thousands, the impact we could make!”…
Well, that dream came true for us. Almost a decade later, we’re still going strong and now are fortunate enough to help others actualise their dreams. Through providing grant-funding and capacity-building initiatives, we’re able to help you kickstart or/and sustain your own social impact organisations. And of course, with community being at the heart of what we do, we have year-round communal events, gatherings and third spaces to ensure we’re building, growing and connecting together.
At GirlDreamer, we’re driven by a dual commitment of fostering community and catalysing social change.
Our core service exists in two parts that work hand-in-hand. Our Dream Fund, where small grants ignite big changes that are often the seed funding required to bring visionary ideas to life and our capacity-building programme. Here we nurture the holistic development of our Dream Fund leaders and create tailored space for growth and learning.
The importance of these services going hand-in-hand cannot be overstated. It’s the fusion of financial support and capacity building that creates the synergy needed for women of colour-led organisations to not only thrive, but to blaze a trail of representative leadership and social transformation. Together, they form a powerful force for change, shaping a more representative and equitable future.
Our Dream Fund is an impactful initiative aimed at supporting women of colour-led social impact organisations through micro-grants. Our grants play a crucial role in fostering and amplifying the voices and efforts of underrepresented communities, which is a major asset to civil society.
The Dream Fund provides small yet impactful grants to emerging and established women of colour-led organisations. These grants are often the vital seed funding needed to kickstart innovative projects, fuel community initiatives, and drive positive change. They enable your organisations to turn your visionary ideas into practical actions that address pressing social issues.
Building representative leadership is a cornerstone of the Dream Fund’s mission. We recognise the immense value of lived experience leadership, where individuals directly impacted by the challenges they aim to address take the lead in driving solutions. This approach brings a level of authenticity, empathy, and insight that is unparalleled.
In the UK, the importance of representative leadership is increasingly recognised. Studies and statistics highlight its significance:
Through our micro-grants and commitment to representative leadership, our aim is to effectively contribute to significantly advancing these goals. We not only want to equip women of colour to lead, but to also acts as a catalyst for positive change in civil society by ensuring that the voices of those who have traditionally been marginalised are heard and valued.
As great as grants are, funding alone isn’t enough for sustainable change. That’s why we complement the Dream Fund with our capacity-building support. This initiative is designed to nurture the holistic development and sustainability of women of colour-led organisations. We provide intentional training, tailored workshops, and resources that empower leaders to confidently take the reins and drive their initiatives towards lasting impact.
Utilising aligned partners with area expertise and our own journey, we support our Dream Fund leaders with a mix of virtual and in-person support, where we cover key areas, such as:
This programme is offered in conjunction with the Dream Fund, and all registered applicants will be invited to join the quarterly programme.
Each quarter, we open the Dream Fund for applications, giving you the opportunity to apply online for grants ranging from £500 to £2,500 for your project, movement, or organisation.
If you happen to miss one round, don’t worry! There are four DreamFund rounds annually that you can apply to.
To stay updated and be among the first to know when the fund is released, ensure you’re subscribed to our mailing list as we share the news of new funding availability here first. You can also visit our opportunities page to apply directly and seize your chance to make a difference.
Professional Development
Our most popular online programme, with 3 cohorts of 45 young womne of colour now forming our GAB alumni. It was an early stage intervention, lasting 3-6 months, to support more young women of colour to become more informed about Boards and becoming a Trustee and forming part of our GirlDreamer Advisory Board to test out the process. 45% of our GAB members successfully went on to secure Board positons.
Personal and Professional Development
A lived experience based programme where we worked with members of our community to develop the importance of lived experience in tackling social issues locally. Soon to be published as a resource and shared sector-wide.
Community Event and Professional Development
An annual GirlDreamer photoshoot got a make-over in 2022 with the addition of bio writing support and an opportunity to get your own individual professional headshots taken. Headshots and bios are two integral elements of your professional journey, whether you’re a freelancer, starting your own company or wanting to look the business on LinkedIn for professional opportunities, they’re foundational. So, 12 GirlDreamer’s connected in-person and walked away with an updated bio highlighting how amazing they are and a professional headshot to use as they wish moving forward. This will be an annual event.
Personal Development
BWB is our approach to using adventure sports as a tool for social change. Since 2017, we have been introducing board sports such as Longboarding and then Surfing (in 2019), to engage more of our community with outdoor adventure sports for women of colour to support their well-being, increase social cohesion and improve access (including financial) to such activities. As a result, we ended up creating Europe’s First Women of Colour Longboarding group and the UK’s First Women of Colour Surfing crew. We are hoping to add snowboarding as the 3rd addition to this initiative.
Personal Development
BWB is our approach to using adventure sports as a tool for social change. Since 2017, we have been introducing board sports such as Longboarding and then Surfing (in 2019), to engage more of our community with outdoor adventure sports for women of colour to support their well-being, increase social cohesion and improve access (including financial) to such activities. As a result, we ended up creating Europe’s First Women of Colour Longboarding group and the UK’s First Women of Colour Surfing crew. We are hoping to add snowboarding as the 3rd addition to this initiative.
Personal and Professional Development
For International Women’s Day 2022, we took 12 women of colour on an outdoor adventure to connect with community, build resilience and challenge their own limitations. Think army-style assault course, all women of colour, wearing overalls, British weather – yep, it all happened and we can’t wait for it to happen again.
Professional Development
To combat access to opportunity, we have partnered with TU to exclusively advertise Trustee vacancies on our website , CV and interview support and free digital resources (available here) to support those interested in entering the Trustee and Governance space.
Professional Development
We supported five cultural and creative micro-organisations led by women of colour with funding and business development support. We utilised our own lived experience and our professional journey with GirlDreamer over the past five years to support those who are on their journeys of social change and setting up or developing their own social enterprises. They each received 3 months of bespoke 1:1 support and £1,500 in funding towards their work.
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