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Funding change and changing funding: what we’ve learnt from the first two years of Propel

It’s been five years since 67 funders came together to give out over 3000 grants to support the communities hardest hit by the pandemic, through the London Community Response. Investing over £57m, funders prioritised groups led by and for communities experiencing racial inequity, LGBT+ communities, Deaf and Disabled people, women and girls.The London Community Response showed us that collaboration at pace and scale is possible. It also showed us that when funders and community groups come together to pool their knowledge, funding and experience, we can make lasting change.

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What does it take to fund systems change?

Over the last six months, London Funders’ learning programme has focused on what it takes to fund and support systemic change. This followed our 2024 annual Festival of Learning where over 900 people from across London Funders’ membership came together to share, challenge, and be inspired by colleagues and changemakers from across the capital and beyond. What emerged from the Festival was a strong desire from funders to support real change for London’s communities.

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Q&A: on the journey of changing systems - what we can learn from the Advice Workforce Development Fund

For the last few months, our learning programme has focused on what it takes for funders to support and enable systemic change to happen. Systemic change is at the heart of London Funders’ collaborations – we have been working with different funders and civil society groups over the years to test, support and observe what it takes to tackle underlying systemic inequality facing Londoners. One of those collaborations is Propel – a long-term funder collaboration coordinated by London Funders, which involves 12 funders, 5 equity infrastructure organisations and now, 131 funded organisations. Through Propel, London Legal Support Trust along with City Bridge Foundation, Trust for London, the National Lottery Community Fund, The Legal Education Foundation and GLA have been working with advice organisations on the Advice Workforce Development Fund (AWDF) to address the root causes of workforce challenges in the advice sector. To help deepen our understanding of what it takes to both fund change and change funding, we spoke with Nezahat Cihan, Chief Executive of the London Legal Support Trust and some of the advice organisations working to tackle the root causes of the advice workforce crisis, including Bruna Boscaini (Director at Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation), Jerry During, (CEO and Co-founder of Money A+E), Tracey Lazard (CEO of Inclusion London) and Liz Mercer (Associate Business Consultant at Inclusion London).

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What Propel is teaching us about funding change and changing funding

As part of our ongoing learning programme on what it takes to fund and support systems change, we’re reflecting on what Propel – the long term funder collaboration coordinated by London Funders – is teaching us about funding change as well as changing the funding system.

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Communities in the driving seat: London Funders’ new Chair reflects on our autumn conference

London Funders’ new Chair, Jenny North, Director of The Clothworkers’ Foundation, shares her reflections from London Funders’ annual autumn conference where over 100 people from across our membership came together to explore how we can work in solidarity with the communities we support.

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Reflections from the Big Network Day: How can we come together to create meaningful change?

Last week, London Funders' members came together for our Big Network Day – a half day event where our thematic, member-led networks had the opportunity to connect, share learning and together explore one key question: How can we come together to create meaningful change in London? Chaired by London Funders’ members, the Networks are a space for funders working on specific areas to meet on a regular basis to exchange knowledge and ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and identify opportunities to collaborate. The Big Network Day was a chance for all of the networks to come together – for the first time since 2020 – to build stronger connections and foster collaboration between the Networks. Here are some of the key learning points we took away from the day.

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Q&A with Collaborate: learning, measuring and defining systems change

What key ingredients do you need to create systemic change? How do you develop a common understanding of what it means to change a particular system? How do you measure the success of the work? Do you need to? As part of our learning programme on systemic change, we spoke with Naomi Diamond and Leigh Brown from Collaborate CIC about all of these questions and more, based primarily on their experience of being a learning partner for the Cornerstone Fund (a collaboration between London Funders’ members City Bridge Foundation, the National Lottery Community Fund, Trust for London, John Lyon’s Charity and the Greater London Authority).The Cornerstone Fund builds and progresses the ambitions of the ‘Way Ahead’, a joint initiative by civil society, public sector bodies and funders, coordinated by London Funders back in 2016. The Way Ahead initiative set out a vision for a thriving civil society that is resilient, collaborative, and sustainable and which will improve outcomes for Londoners. Eight years on from the publication of the Way Ahead recommendations, there is much to learn from how Cornerstone Fund partners have ambitions of systemic change into practice. With their role as a learning partner to the Fund coming to an end, Naomi and Leigh reflected on the learning that’s emerged.

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Festival of Learning 2024 - sharing the highlights in our new report

We’re delighted to share our new report which brings together nearly 100 hours’ worth of learning that took place during the Festival. This year we've drawn out some of the highlights into digestible learning points to help inform and inspire how funders work.

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Member Spotlight: Global's Make Some Noise

Being part of the London Funders movement means building strong trusted connections based on shared values and ambitions. The Member Spotlight series is an opportunity for members to share about their work, values and expertise, and provides fellow funders an opportunity to connect with them.Joining the London Funders fold in 2024, Global’s Make Some Noise (GMSN) is dedicated to ensuring no one in the UK faces life’s toughest challenges alone. They fund small, local charities uniquely positioned to address community-specific issues related to poverty and inequality, housing and homelessness, mental health, preventing isolation and improving life skills.

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A catalyst for collaboration: reflections from my time at London Funders with Tobi Olukoya

In June, we welcomed our intern Tobi Olukoya through our participation in the 10,000 Black Interns programme. As Tobi’s internship comes to an end she reflects on her time here and how it has shaped her future ambitions, and what's next in store.

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What does it take to create systemic change?

Just over a month ago, we wrapped up our annual Festival of Learning, a two-week programme of learning where funders, civil society and changemakers shared a phenomenal depth and breadth of insights. One of the big highlights this year was the appetite from funders to support and drive real change for London’s communities. There is a sense that ‘tinkering’ around the edges is no longer a sufficient response to the deeply entrenched problems funders hope to play a role in tackling.

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London Funders launches new service for pooled funding

Collaboration Circle, a new company where funders and civil society will design, learn and make funding decisions together.

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