Stormzy’s Merky Foundation donates £500,000 to fund further or higher education

The charitable organisation set up by Stormzy has pledged £500,000 to fund further or higher education for young people from underprivileged backgrounds as part of its £10 million fund to tackle racial inequality and injustice.

The #Merky Foundation has announced the Black Heart Foundation’s Each Day. Every Day campaign will be the first UK charity to receive money from the fund, which was announced in June to support organisations, charities and movements involved in tackling racial inequality, justice reform and black empowerment in the UK.

The foundation pledged £10 million over the next 10 years to organisations engaged in the fight for racial equality and social justice.

The campaign was set up last month in response to the Black Lives Matter movement with a goal to raise £500,000 from friends, supporters and the general public, to double the number of young people from under-resourced and under-represented communities it has helped so far through its Black Heart Scholarship Programme, taking it from 100 to 200.

The donation from the #Merky Foundation will take the total raised to more than £1.45 million, including £500,000 of match funding from the board of the Black Heart Foundation in response to the money raised on Just Giving and through offline donations.

A spokesperson for the #Merky Foundation said: “The Black Heart Foundation is an incredible charity and we are proud to make them the first beneficiary to receive funding from our £10 million pledge, announced earlier this year.

“Their Each Day. Every Day campaign is a brilliant initiative and we are elated that our £500,000 donation has played a key part in helping them achieve their target. We encourage others to donate whatever they can to help change a young person’s life.”

Businessman Ric Lewis founded the Black Heart Foundation in 2000 and through the Black Heart Scholarship, launched in 2013, the charity provides funding for young people who would not otherwise be able to afford higher or further education.

He said: “We are grateful to #Merky Foundation and invigorated by their generosity.

“Their contribution is an amazing testament to their vision and commitment to higher and further education for ambitious, hard-working young people from the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society.

“With their support we will reach another 50 young people, taking the total number of scholars we can help to 250.

“I want to thank everyone that has donated money so far. The response we have had has been incredible.

“I know there are others who still want to help us hit our original £500,000 crowdfunding target on Just Giving and so we are issuing one final invitation to everyone to get involved, give whatever they can, and be the change we want to see in our world.”