A LEADING community group has been awarded £200,000 to help empower more Black women.

Soul Purpose 360 CIC was set up by Palma Black in 2020, and provides coaching and mentoring to help support and nurture Black women to positively impact their communities.

The CIC, which  is run by over 30 volunteers, was awarded the funds from National Lottery funding to support its work with Black & minoritised women across the United Kingdom.

Black believes the money is going to make a huge difference to her organisation.

She said: “The funding from the National Lottery is a game changer for the social enterprise. It will go a long way in helping us to fulfil our mission to motivate, inspire, and imbue confidence in Black and minoritised women in the UK, to enable them to contribute positively to their communities through their own personal growth.  

She added: “We are grateful to the people who play the National Lottery – it is their hopes and dreams that fuel our aspirations”.   

Lifeline

Black started the project following a personal tragedy, which fuelled a desire to support women to overcome personal obstacles and challenges to live fulfilled lives and give back to society.  

The group now boasts over 600 members and a growing network of local Soul Purpose 360 groups.  Local groups are coordinated by volunteer facilitators and have been a lifeline to many Black and minoritised women experiencing social isolation, due to a plethora of personal circumstances, and for those searching for a supportive and empowering network of women that share similar life experiences, dreams, and aspirations. 

The new funding from The National Lottery Community Fund which distributes money raised by National Lottery players for good causes and is the largest community funder in the UK, will enable Soul Purpose 360 to recruit much-needed staff to nurture a national, community-based cohort of Black and minoritised women change agents, through The Self-Leadership and Professional Community Development Programme.  

Mentoring

Beneficiaries will lead social impact initiatives in their local communities across the UK. The programme will offer one-to-one and group coaching, mentoring, and training to help their members overcome personal challenges and obstacles and gain the confidence to realise their community projects and in doing so, bring benefits to many more in their communities.  

Soul Purpose 360 member and programme graduate Francine Daley said: “This is amazing news from The National Lottery. With the support from Soul Purpose 360 I have been able to improve my mental and physical health and used my experience to set up my own social enterprise 360 Lifestyle Support Network which educates and inspires individuals to change their lifestyle to create a better version of themselves”. 

The member-led social enterprise will be able to establish more Soul Purpose 360 local groups in towns and cities nationwide, bringing the Black Women’s Networking & Empowerment Circles within reach of more women and thereby increasing their membership.