The Equality Fund
The Equality Fund supports organisations working to tackle inequality and create a fairer, more inclusive Camden. Since 2020, the fund has provided unrestricted, accessible funding to organisations supporting people and communities experiencing inequality. The fund is shaped by Camden residents, putting decision-making power in the hands of people who understand the issues facing their communities.
Why the Equality Fund matters
Camden is a borough of huge opportunity, but inequality means that not everyone has the same access to it. The Equality Fund supports organisations working to address some of the deep-rooted barriers faced by Camden residents.
The fund was established as a community-first response to the need for vital local services and support. From the beginning, Camden residents helped shape the fund, including its priorities, application process and funding criteria.
We believe people who experience inequality are often best placed to identify the solutions their communities need. That is why residents play a central role in deciding where the funding goes.
How the fund has evolved
The Equality Fund initially supported organisations addressing inequalities faced by young people and families, women, people of colour, disabled people and care leavers.
Following consultation with Equality Fund alumni, the fund has evolved to focus on organisations supporting people living with disabilities and people from the global majority. These are two groups in Camden disproportionately affected by poverty, isolation and hate.
By listening to residents and adapting the fund over time, we aim to make sure funding responds to the issues communities are experiencing now.
What your support makes possible
Investment in the Equality Fund helps organisations provide specialist, tailored support to people facing inequality. It can create more inclusive spaces, improve access to support, strengthen wellbeing and create opportunities for people who face barriers elsewhere.
What your support makes possible
Investment in the Equality Fund helps organisations provide specialist, tailored support to people facing inequality. It can create more inclusive spaces, improve access to support, strengthen wellbeing and create opportunities for people who face barriers elsewhere.
INCLUSIVE SPORT & DISABILITY
Action Youth Boxing Intervention uses sport to support young people facing barriers because of race, disability or neurodiversity. Through its Box For All programme, young people take part in non-contact boxing, fitness, mentoring, peer support and enrichment activities.
Equality Fund funding helped the organisation grow, develop staff skills and make its programmes more inclusive, including training staff to better support young people with special educational needs. Over 586 beneficiaries were supported, and the organisation was able to test new approaches that helped secure commissioned work from Camden services.
Action Youth Boxing Intervention CIC
COMMUNITY & REFUGEE WOMEN
HealthPromHealthProm supports refugee and migrant women, including women from Afghanistan and Ukraine, to build connections, access support and feel less isolated in their new communities.
Equality Fund funding helped HealthProm keep its Camden programmes running and develop new activities in response to what refugee families told them they needed. This included English classes, mental health support, youth activities, yoga, art therapy and family activities. The funding also helped the organisation build partnerships across Camden and develop more refugee-led services, with Ukrainian and Afghan women helping to shape and deliver the work.
TECH & RACIAL EQUITY
Somalis in TechSomalis in Tech works to tackle racial inequality in the tech sector by creating opportunities for Somali and other underrepresented communities to build skills, connections and careers in technology.
Equality Fund funding helped the organisation expand its Code Club, provide equipment and licences for young people, and establish a physical community space for workshops and events. Its community has grown to 5,200 members, with 25 children currently taking part in its Camden Code Club. The organisation also hosted a major event bringing around 300 people together, including entrepreneurs and investors, creating new opportunities for people from underrepresented backgrounds to connect and access funding.
West Hampstead Women’s CentreCRISIS SUPPORT & WOMEN
West Hampstead Women’s Centre supports disadvantaged and hard-to-reach women, with more than 80% of its users coming from racialised and ethnically diverse communities.
Equality Fund funding gave the centre stability to keep vital services running and plan ahead. This included advice and advocacy, low-cost health and wellbeing services, cultural support groups and skills classes, helping women address issues including poverty, poor health, isolation and housing.
In 2023, the centre supported 480 women. Its advice service helped women access welfare benefits, hardship grants and cost-of-living support, with 121 applications securing £50,664 for women in need. The centre also supported 149 women through health and wellbeing services and 100 women through foot care and skills classes.
CREATIVE ARTS & YOUTH
Creators HouseCreators House helps make Camden’s creative sector more inclusive and accessible for underrepresented young people aged 18–25.
Through the Equality Fund, young people get free access to a creative studio, mentoring, coaching and mental health support, helping them develop creative skills and work towards careers in the industry.
89% of their 3,900+ members are from ethnic minority backgrounds, and 79% of users say Creators House has helped them build a community.
Want to explore more?
Read our Equality Fund reports to see previous grants, funded organisations and what the fund has achieved over the years.
Daniel Jourdan - Head of Grant Programmes at Camden Giving