Deluge of donations to support the BLM cause

A crowdfunding campaign for Black Lives Matter UK has raised more than £660,000 in less than five days.

The fundraiser, supporting the movement on the back of the US protests, has seen over 26,000 donations so far.

Scores of BME charities have seen donations increasing on the back of raised awareness, largely due to the publicity gained by the movement.

Although not a registered charity, the group has raised £666,000 with its target of £500,000 reached in four days.

The organisation said that its UKBLM fund is an “evolving fund to support black life against institutional racism and enable radical reimagining/knowledge production from within our communities”.

The UK group identified itself as a coalition of activists and organisers formed in 2016.

The movement started a fundraiser to support its work in the UK on 2 June, after a wave of anti-racism protests in the US and in the rest of the world.

The money will be used towards a range of causes and projects, including campaigning for law change, developing educational resources, police monitoring and supporting black communities impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

It will also be supporting the United Family & Friends Campaign (UFFC), an organisation born in 1997 to support family and friends of people who died in police, prison and psychiatric custody, and working with other existing anti-racist organisations.

However because the group is not a charity, question have been raised about its transparency and governance.

A statement from the group said: “We completely understand some of the questions around our transparency, watch this space for a full press release and update with clarifications soon.”