Influencing the Funding Sector

Across the UK, funders, local governments, and communities are exploring with practical ways to put people closest to the issue in charge of decisions about money. Camden Giving is motivated by a desire to see more Participatory Grantmaking (PGM) in the UK. Our vision is by 2035, citizens across the country will be involved in funding decisions that impact them. We’ll use our experience of PGM to influence the wider sector. We support organisations and foundations to turn this vision into practice, embedding participatory approaches and learning directly into their teams.

Scroll down to see our services, the team you’ll work with and who to reach out to.

Our Services:

We offer flexible support tailored to each foundation or organisation, while ensuring all programmes include team learning. Our services are designed to allow Camden Giving staff to bring their relational expertise directly to foundations. All income from our consultancy is reinvested into Camden’s communities, funding our grantmaking programmes and capital projects.

  • We can act as a banker for participatory funds, including awarding grants directly to un-constituted groups.

  • We handle the employer side for participants, from contracts to compliance, and can hold payments in trust where needed.

  • We design safeguarding processes that keep participants safe, support wellbeing through regular check-ins, and manage any serious issues.

  • Foundations can use our online tool to run their grantmaking. It requires little staff time, though development costs may apply.

  • We deliver tailored sessions with staff or boards to explore where power lies in the organisation, co-create ground rules for working with participants, and build understanding of participatory approaches.

  • We design and run inclusive recruitment processes, promote opportunities, sift and interview candidates, and involve our Camden Giving alumni along the way.

  • We train and support participants to understand the grant process, manage bias and use data effectively, and we facilitate grantmaking meetings.

Meet Our Experts

We’re a team who’ve spent years working alongside communities, running grants, and supporting people taking the lead in decisions that affect them.

  • Natasha Friend - Director

    Our Director and an expert in participatory grantmaking. Natasha designed and set up Camden Giving’s approach, shaping everything from governance to culture. Natasha is part of the global Participatory Grantmaking Community of Practice and created an open-source toolkit to help others get started. She’s also supported other foundations to design and deliver their own participatory processes.

  • Danielle Green - Assistant Director

    Leads on co-designing partnerships between local government, communities and major land developers in London. Danielle set up Camden’s Citizen Social Scientist forum and has wide experience running community-led projects, from citizen research to participatory grantmaking. Within Camden Giving Danielle’s built the systems that keep things moving, covering fundraising, governance, HR, finance, volunteering and grantmaking.

  • Suraya Miah - Participatory Facilitation Manager

    Suraya works alongside residents on our community grant panels, supporting them to take the lead in funding decisions. Before joining Camden Giving, Suraya worked with Camden Council, the Greater London Authority and UCL’s Institute for Global Prosperity, focusing on youth participation, safeguarding and citizen-led research. She’s passionate about co-designing programmes that put lived experience at the heart of decision-making.

  • Daniel Jourdan - Head of Grant Programmes

    Daniel has facilitated more than 50 participatory grantmaking panels and supported over 200 grants to local charities and resident-led projects, distributing more than £1.5m in Camden. Before Camden Giving, Daniel spent 15 years in youth work across London, including developing an award-winning NHS partnership for young people affected by youth violence.

Get in Touch

If you’d like to explore how Camden Giving can support your organisation or foundation to embed participatory grantmaking, contact us at danielle@camdengiving.org.uk or click the button below.