Innovation in Participation

Camden Giving’s knowledge of Participatory Grantmaking comes from action, over the last 6 years we have awarded over £6million, working with 200 people with lived experience of the issues we address.

Each time we’ve awarded a grant, we’ve done something differently, this means we have built up a knowledge of Participatory Grantmaking and we are using this to shift power in the funding sector


Headshot of Hannah Paterson smiling directly at the camera wearing a grey rain jacket, outside - blurred background of canal.
Camden Giving is one of the most exciting participatory grantmakers in Europe, deeply rooted in it’s communities and at the forefront of innovating the sector. Any foundation that’s is considering how to get closer to the people they support would benefit from working with Camden Giving.
— Hannah Paterson, Churchill Fellow

Impact of Participatory Grantmaking

We know that Participatory Grant-Making leads to better outcomes for individuals, communities and civil society than traditional grantmaking and we’ve gathered evidence on key outcomes of Participatory Grantmaking. We know that funders and policymakers benefit from being informed by the deep knowledge and experiences of citizens that traditional grantmaking struggle to capture, this ultimately means that funding goes to places where it is most helpful. Participatory Grantmaking also builds power, connectivity and networks for individuals and communities. It leads to a more equitable societies and justice for communities because:

  • PGM centres lived experience and our community panels are diverse, 73% are from racially diverse backgrounds, 52% aged 16-25, 13% are disabled, this is reflective in the diversity of projects and leaders our panels fund. At Camden Giving 70-80% of projects funded are led by racialised groups, this is because participatory grantmaking decisions are made by people who have experienced marginalisation and are therefore more likely to have trust in and recognise the strength of black and brown community leaders. Camden Giving have also been told by black grantees that they are more likely to apply to Camden Giving than other funders because they are a participatory funder and discrimination is less likely.

    Panellists are also more active in signposting the fund to people within their networks, we have seen applications from community leaders often locked out of funding increase significantly, including applications from young people.

  • In a busy city, where it is very hard to promote a service, word of mouth within communities matters. If a charity is already delivering work targeted at people making up the panel, but it’s never been heard of, someone they know went there told them not to go, or it feels more harmful than useful to the community it aims to serve, there is little point in funding it. Turning around the trust of communities is not easy work and funding organisations that don’t have trust and reach is a waste of funder money. On the flip side, there are countless organisations in Camden, that no matter who sits on a panel, there is always someone who has heard positive things about that organisation. Panellists also often build on their own network of referrals with one another. They feel empowered to support one another and want to raise awareness of opportunities they might not otherwise have heard about.

  • Most of the people involved in Camden Giving’s participatory grantmaking are unemployed or underemployed. We’ve seen that around 15% of panellists have directly gained employment through participatory grantmaking, this is down to an increased confidence, skills, networks and our direct introduction to businesses recruiting locally. For example we’ve introduced panellists to the Participatory Grant making Community of Practice of which she is now working part-time as their administrator. We’ve been able to increase paid opportunities for many others we’ve worked with to access quality engagements to use their skills learnt through engaging in PGM, for example our Alumni and PGM advisors (formed of ex-panellists) have been paid to engage in workshops, speak on panels, provide paid consultancy support to external grant-making organisations, businesses, funders. 4 former panellists have been in paid employment in some capacity with Camden Giving, including our Community Ideas Project Lead and Participation Champion.

  • Participatory grantmaking changes the way that people see themselves within their community. We know 1 in 10 of the people involved in participatory grantmaking in Camden go on to initatiate some sort of social action within their community, we’ve seen people start fitness groups, bereavement clubs, becoming Trustees and running after school clubs. We expect the number of people involved in this are higher, but it is clear that participatory grantmaking is a catalyst for community-led change beyond the grantmaking itself. 70% of grants awarded through our small grants fund are awarded to individual residents, including former panellists, running community projects. The panel believe that supporting social action and community building led by residents in their own communities, over funding charities to deliver this work, is critical to tackling deep rooted issues, trying new ways of working and empowering communities.

  • At Camden Giving we survey all out-going participatory grantmakers and ask them if they feel more powerful and 100% of those responding say awarding grants has made them feel more powerful. The impact of this increase in power could be truly significant to London, especially as participatory grantmaking works with communities who are less likely to be registered to vote, less likely to hold decisions making roles and less likely to hold senior jobs within London’s businesses. 4 residents who have interacted with our PGM have gone onto receive a Camden Youth Award every year from 2020 – 2023, they told us “This is more than just learning about research. We’re learning lots of skills we wouldn’t have learnt in school or anywhere else – interview, collecting data, presentation & public speaking skills – I want to continue applying these skills otherwise I might forget them!” and “I am building up confidence skills which will help me with applying for work and speaking to people”.

    Grantmaking decisions that are made by the people charities aim to benefit builds up a community network of peer-referrals for the projects funded. It also goes beyond the projects we fund, Camden Giving have seen people involved in participatory grantmaking also signposting to projects that they didn’t fund. One person involved in participatory grantmaking told Camden Giving “I feel I am now able to tell people where they can get help, I'm able to be a more helpful person now that I’ve seen how much great stuff is going on in Camden.”

Selfie of Nazma Begum, smiling outside with a tree in the background.
Being a [Participatory Grantmaking] Panellist has changed my life and supported me to feel a sense of belonging and a sense commitment to my community.
— Nazma Begum, Camden Giving Panellist

Develop your practice with us

  • We welcome donations from funders who wish to observe our participatory grantmaking process. We’ve worked this way with the National Lottery Community Fund, ShareGift and Camden Council. This is a good way to get a deep understanding of how participatory grantmaking works in practice.

    We ask funding partners to contribute at least £10,000 to our funding “pots” and to adhere to our values. Our priority is creating a safe environment for our grantmakers, so we ask that one consistent person attends sessions.

    To find out more email natasha@camdengiving.org.uk.

  • Our team have worked with staff at a range of foundations to help move forward their participation. Everything from working with boards, to working with staff to run a participatory grantmaking process from end to end. Our consultancy day rate is £400.

    If you’d like to find out more, email danielle@camdengiving.org.uk.

  • The community members who are part of our grantmaking are the experts on good participatory practices. Camden Giving staff support our grantmaking alumni to sit on panels, provide advice on participation and talk about their experience.

    We charge a minimum of £150 for a Participatory Advisors, with £100 being given directly to our alumni member. To find out more email shofi@camdengiving.org.uk.

  • We’ve provided paid consultancy and advice sessions with 16 grantmaking organisations and businesses from across the globe to help them implement and progress their participatory grantmaking approaches:

    • Barnet Giving

    • BBC Children in Need

    • Botnar Foundation

    • Harrow Giving

    • Hammersmith & Fulham United

    • Islington Giving

    • Lewisham Local

    • Misson 44

    • National Lottery Community Fund

    • National Survivors User Network

    • Richmond Giving

    • The Co-op Foundation

    • The WildLife Trust

    • The United Nations

    • Vermont Foodbank

    • Queens Park Community Centre

    We’ve also partnered with 5 existing grantmaking organisations who are devolving their funding through our grant programmes including:

    • National Lottery Community Fund

    • Paul Hamlyn Foundation

    • ShareGift

    • Span Trust

    • Two Magpies

  • In 2020 Camden Giving was one of 12 foundations that established the PGM Community of Practice, it now has over 1400 members in 73 countries. The community is volunteer run and our staff give time and knowledge to the community. Is if free, but donations are welcome.

Building London's Participation Infrastructure

Participatory grantmaking has been rapidly making waves across London, with foundations, councils and institutions handing over decision-making power to communities. We’re on a mission to build-up London’s participation infrastructure, equipping citizens with the skills, tools, and mechanisms to take control over funding decisions that affect them.

To make this possible, we've undertaken research to map existing participatory approaches that enable citizens to make decision on how money is spent across the city, and identify which boroughs are needing more investment for participation. You can view the findings here:



Our Participatory Grantmaking News

Yasmin Farah and Natasha Friend speak about safeguarding and PGM.

Yodit Tesfamariam and Natasha Friend speak about fundraising for PGM.

Yasmin Farah speaks about how we use Digital Participation in our PGM approaches