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.”