131 Camden residents, 166 applications and some very difficult decisions
Year 5 panellists and Camden Giving staff at their final panel meeting, celebrating a year of community-led funding decisions.
Reflecting on Year 5 of the We Make Camden Kit and the people deciding where funding goes
Over the past year, 131 Camden residents helped decide how more than £220,000 should support community ideas across the borough. They read applications, asked questions, listened to different views and made some genuinely difficult choices.
Between July 2025 and July 2026, Camden residents helped decide how more than £220,000 should support local community ideas through the We Make Camden Kit.
Across the year, 166 applications were considered by 131 panellists. Together, they made decisions through 12 community panels, reading applications, asking questions and weighing up where limited funding could make the biggest difference.
This is often called participatory grant making. Put simply, it means that funding decisions are made by people with real knowledge of the community, rather than behind closed doors.
The decisions were not easy. Applicants asked for more than £421,000, almost twice the amount available. A funding rate of 54.8% meant many strong and worthwhile ideas could not be supported.
That does not mean unsuccessful applications were not valued. Every application came from someone who had spotted a need, developed an idea and taken the time to put themselves forward. In a difficult funding climate, that takes initiative, care and determination. We want to recognise everyone who applied, whether or not they received a grant.
Young people making real decisions
Young people from NW5 taking part in a We Make Camden Kit session.
For applications focused on opportunities for children and young people, decisions were made by young people themselves.
A total of 119 young people aged 15 to 25 took part through schools and youth clubs across Camden. They brought their own experiences, challenged assumptions and asked practical questions about whether projects would genuinely work for young people.
A huge thank you to Mr Osman Osman at Haverstock, Ms Flora Wilson at William Ellis, Evans Omondi at Coram’s Fields, Sharley Newitt at NW5 and Jason Allen at Mary’s youth charity for helping make these panels happen.
What applications told us
The written applications also gave us a snapshot of what communities are focusing on. Mental health was the most common theme, appearing in 51 applications. Many applications were also woman-led or Global Majority-led, while arts and culture, education and employment, physical health, sport, life skills, food and opportunities for young people all featured strongly.
These tags do not tell the full story. They only reflect words and themes found in the main written application, not everything shared through titles, videos or budgets. But they do show the range of issues local groups are responding to every day.
Panels also funded projects focused on women, parents, disabled people, childcare, tutoring, gardening and bringing different generations together.
Celebrating community judgement
People of different genders used the full range of scores, from “Strong Yes” to “Strong No”. Positive scores were the most common overall, but panellists were also willing to raise concerns and say no where they felt an application needed more work.
Good community decision-making is not about everyone agreeing straight away. It is about listening, asking difficult questions and reaching decisions that people can stand behind.
Year 5 showed what can happen when local people are trusted with real responsibility. We are proud of the care and honesty panellists brought to the process, and grateful to every applicant helping make Camden a stronger, fairer and more connected place.
The insights in this reflection were gathered through Elevate, Camden Giving’s community-owned participatory grantmaking platform, which helps make funding decisions transparent and rooted in local priorities.
The We Make Camden Kit is only possible because of the generosity of funders and partners who believe communities should have a say in the decisions that affect them. If you’d like to support community-led funding in Camden, get in touch with our team.
