Yasmin’s Reflections

Camden Giving turned 5 this September and like all anniversaries, it’s been a time for reflection. While we’re on the topic, August 2022 marked my one-year work anniversary at Camden Giving and boy, what a year it’s been.

My journey to Camden Giving

Before joining the Camden Giving team, I was working as a consultant at one of the ‘big four’ firms. I’d have a morning meeting with clients based in Japan, an afternoon meeting to sync with colleagues in America and spend the rest of the day assessing technology risks. At the start of the coronavirus pandemic I joined the Future Changemakers panel, which was made up entirely of young Camden residents. In the evenings after work I’d meet my fellow panellists and we’d decide which services for young people we wanted to fund. We shared stories about our experiences growing up in Camden, speaking openly and vulnerably. We debated about the different projects and how they would address the issues faced by Camden’s young people during and after the pandemic. We were keen to support organisations that adapted to address the new issues created by lockdown and social isolation. Our panel awarded a total of £190,622 to organisations working dilligently to keep young people in Camden safe.

When the opportunity to be a full-time changemaker popped up, I leaped at it. In our tiny team of 7, we all wear lots of different hats. My focus is on a different fund now, the We Make Camden Kit. These grants are smaller, at a maximum of £2k, but here’s the exciting bit - they can go directly to individuals. My job is to help Camden citizens access this funding and to support them throughout their very unique journeys. I meet awesome Camdenites across the borough and spread the word about the fund. I’ve had lots of chats with people who are bursting with ideas and together, we figure out where they can start. There have also been a number people who were already doing great things for the community and self-funding their projects, reminding me how important it is to spread the word about programmes like the Kit.

An accessible approach to funding

Alongside the outreach, I help people fill in their funding applications online. This is especially important when a learning difficulty or language barrier means it’s easier to speak to me than fill out a form. I also offer this is if someone is just a bit nervous about applying, I can understand the intimidation of drawing up your first budget spreadsheet or answering questions that the decision-making panel have asked. I aim to make the process less daunting.

It’s interesting being on the other side of things with the panel too and focussing on how I can support them and make sure they have the information they need to make funding decisions. Once the panel decide to fund a citizen, I take them through all of the due diligence and help them feel prepared to deliver their project. We draw up a safeguarding policy together; we make sure the risk assessment is in place. Camden Giving cover the cost of a DBS if they need one, and the public liability insurance too. They describe their vision for the project and we make a plan to bring it to life. We talk about any concerns or worries and what would help ease them. I share my network with each individual, connecting them with opportunities for free space, to relevant training opportunities, to similar projects, other funding opportunities and more. 

I’ve worked with talented artists that are sharing their passions with the community, everything from string animation to therapeutic crochet. I’ve worked with really driven young people making a difference by upcycling trainers or offering a free hair-braiding service for those that need it the most. In the first year of the We Make Camden Kit, I supported 63 Camden citizens to access funding. Last year’s panel of 12 Camden residents awarded a total £169,728 to citizens, organisations and schools that are building a better Camden. The panel also awarded a series of larger grants totalling £112,598 to 17 organisations that are tackling food poverty in Camden. We’re 3 months into the second year of the Kit and 10 new panellists have awarded 24 grants so far. Dan (our Head of Grants) and I get the pleasure of spending an evening with our dedicated panel every two weeks while they review applications. This structure means the fund doesn’t have a final deadline for applications, and the turnaround time is pretty quick too.  

What’s been hard

The Kit is great for testing an idea or piloting a project, but for our grantees that want to build something bigger, £2k won’t stretch very far. Our Equality Fund offers grants up to £30k and the opportunity to think about growth and plan a more sustainable project. So far, 4 citizen grantees from the Kit have set up charitable organisations, enabling them to apply for the larger funding pots across the country to take their projects to the next level.

I wish I could tell you it’s all been sunshine and rainbows. In those conversations with applicants about budget spreadsheets, people are normally working under the assumption that they’ll have to do the work voluntarily and are surprised to hear that they can pay themselves through their grant. These assumptions are often made by people from Black and Minority Ethnic communities, who are more likely to be hesitant about including a payment for their time spent on their project. This is despite the fact that they’ll be project planning, co-ordinating, promoting online and in-person, facilitating workshops…the list goes on. Sometimes this hesitancy is because they are undervaluing the impact of their own work, often a result of being undervalued by society and experiences of inequalities, discrimination and racism. Sometimes it’s because of the steaming hot mess that is our benefits system and the anxiety of potentially having your payments cut off because you decided to do something good for your community.

In year 2, we increased the maximum size of the grant from £1.5k to £2k to reflect the increased cost of living. Our grantees are weathering the storm in these tough and uncertain times, all while feeling the heavy sense of duty to keep going for the people that rely on them. It is not easy.

Can you help?

I’d like to say thank you to everyone that’s played a part in supporting Camden citizens and grassroots organisations to do great things, whether that’s through the funding and generous donations that make our grants possible, an in-kind donation of space or resources to a grantee, volunteering your time to help run a project or offering your valuable advice. If you’d like to contribute in any sort of way, please get in touch with me. You can reach me at Yasmin@camdengiving.org.uk.And finally, if you’re a Camden citizen and feel inspired to lead a project through the Kit, I’m all ears, let’s talk.