Simon Wagstaff

The funding has been made available from the Allen & Overy Foundation, which is funded by contributions from A&O partners worldwide, and is being administrated in Northern Ireland by the Belfast grants committee.

The Belfast office has provided over £100,000 to charitable organisations in the last two years, including Flourish NI, which supports survivors of human trafficking, and educational charities Career Ready and The Brilliant Club.

Simon Wagstaff, global head of tech services at A&O Belfast and chair of the Belfast grants committee, said: “As one of the world’s largest and most connected law firms, we are committed to making a difference.

“Supporting our local community is at the heart of our business and we are keen to hear from charities that address our core themes of increasing access to justice, and the advancement of education or employment across Northern Ireland.

“To benefit from support, charities should be based locally or have at least one project or area of focus in Northern Ireland. We recognise that the last year has been particularly difficult for many charities so our focus will be on providing longer-term support and we welcome applications from charities seeking up to three years’ funding support for projects.”

He added: “In addition to offering financial support, this year we are also keen to share the skills of our people so we will be giving priority to charities that can offer reciprocal volunteering or pro bono opportunities.

“We have over 600 people working in the Belfast office across our legal team and professional support staff, all of whom have a significant contribution to make, either through offering their time or expertise. This new area of focus will be mutually beneficial as we work towards our target of achieving 4,000 hours of volunteering or pro bono work this year.”

Charities interested in applying for funding should email belfastgrants@allenovery.com, requesting an application form and outlining how their work meets the criteria of increasing access to justice or the advancement of education or employment.

Completed application forms should be returned by 5pm on Friday 21 May 2021 and successful charities will be notified by the end of June 2021.