New fund launched to help the next generation of ‘women who dare to dream’

The announcement marks a year since Once Upon A Time In Birmingham: Women Who Dared To Dream – a book the council commissioned to mark the centenary of women getting the vote – was published, with proceeds going into a legacy fund.

Proceeds from the book – published by local, female-run The Emma Press – have been used to set up the fund, which will be run by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham’s Charity.

Applications can be made for individual grants of up to £250 to support academic or career dreams – be it an activity, course, books, equipment or accessing work experience.

Stephen Goldstein, Chairman of the Lord Mayor of Birmingham’s Charity, added: “This fund will help young women to pursue their academic or career goals, and we’re pleased to be able to support the city council in this innovative initiative to help open doors for the next generation.”

Birmingham City Council joined forces with The Emma Press to publish Once Upon A Time In Birmingham: Women Who Dared To Dream in October 2018, which featured 30 inspirational Birmingham women past and present, drawn from public nominations by young female writers from Writing West Midlands’ Sparks Young Writers group.

Written, illustrated and published by local women, the book profiles a range of female achievement from women’s rights campaigner Jessie Eden to the first female computer programmer Mary Lee Berners-Lee, to education campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.

Applicants must live in Birmingham and be in education or training within the city.

To apply for a grant, visit the charity’s website lordmayorbirmingham.uk  

The closing date for applications is 12 January 2020.

UPDATE: The closing date for applications has been extended to 7 February 2020.

• Once Upon A Time In Birmingham: Women Who Dared To Dream (RRP £14.99) is available from Birmingham branches of Foyles and Waterstones, and online from Amazon and The Emma Press (theemmapress.com)