Learning on the Road
Reflections from a year of Community Action Fund site visits
It has been a year since The Civic Power Fund’s Community Action Fund (CAF) was awarded to 18 amazing grassroots groups in May 2023. What an insightful and humbling journey this has been.
Over the past year, we have been working closely with our grantee partners to understand their needs and support them where possible. As part of this, we prioritised getting out to meet as many of the groups and their communities as possible.
At the time of writing, the team has carried out 12 in-person site visits and ongoing virtual conversations with almost all 18 groups.
I should say, throughout this process, we have been cognisant of groups’ limited capacity and the power dynamics between funders and the grassroots groups. We have tried hard to centre these visits around the groups’ time and needs — making it clear that these visits are not for reporting or assessment.
You can read more than this in my blog on exploring power in the context of funding here.
The main aims of these visits were to:
- build deeper relationships with the groups
- understand their specific needs
- understand key patterns that are emerging
- profile their amazing work
- look for cross-collaboration opportunities and synergies.
I have attempted to capture some of the key lessons we learnt below.
Overarching Reflections: The Value of the Visit
The site visits were not just explorations; they enabled us to immerse ourselves in the journey of these remarkable grassroots groups.
It was a privilege to have their trust as partners. They generously allowed us to meet some of their leaders. They were vulnerable enough to share their reflections authentically and have an honest conversation about their needs and struggles. We left each site visit feeling even more energised and motivated to do this work.
All across the UK, the transformative power of community organising shone through, from our site visit to St Mark’s church in Stoke-on-Trent with All The Small Things to Brighton with Brighton and Hove Community Land Trust (BH16CLT) and the Who Own’s Brighton Campaign.
One notable aspect that emerged from these visits was the level of collaboration we observed. While we initially engaged with one group, they consistently extended invitations to other groups and campaigns which exemplifies the hallmark of effective community organising.
This collaborative spirit underscores the importance of strong infrastructure in supporting grassroots initiatives and the power that can be built when the groups work together. However, many groups feel that despite their high appetite for more collaborative work, the current infrastructure is letting them down and draining their power.
Most groups told us that they hope more funders do site visits rooted in relationships. Seeing the work in person will help them empathise with and gain a deeper understanding of the important nuances involved.
I couldn’t agree more with this. Doing these site visits was one of the most fulfilling parts of managing the Community Action Fund. It showed me that however passionate and connected we are to the work as funders, we don’t really understand it until we see it in person.
Key Themes Emerging
Significant appetite for organising amongst grassroots groups
We know that funding for local community organising is scarce. But thanks to the CAF process, we also know that this doesn’t reflect the appetite and energy of our communities across the UK.
We received approximately 900 applications to the CAF that seemed to be within scope. This followed an initial eligibility questionnaire taken by 7,500 individuals. Subsequently, the staff team curated a shortlist of 89 groups that perfectly aligned with the criteria of the CAF. It is important to note the diversity of locations of these groups. We had 42 different cities, towns and villages and all UK nations and regions represented.
You can find more on this here.
This appetite was also reflected in our site visits. Several groups mentioned that there is a substantial potential of lived-experience leaders, who want to engage in social justice campaigning and organising, but this potential is left untapped due to a lack of funding for this work.
Therefore, due to both need and opportunity, many groups prioritise more service provision-related work.
However, we have seen through the CAF just how important the link between vital community care and community organising is.
Most of the groups we visited built trust in their community by first offering vital services. This is a pathway to leadership recruitment and relationship building, out of which genuine community power grows. During some of the site visits we directly learned from the lived-experience leaders who shared their stories and journey from being a service user to becoming a leader and going on to deliver training and leading campaigning work.
This is brilliantly represented at Saathi House, where at present over 80% of the current staff are ex-service users.
Groups don’t want to stop providing this vital community care, but they do want to be resourced to move beyond it — so they can eventually stop focusing on the symptoms of injustice and go straight to the root cause. Thanks in part to CAF funding, a lot of the groups we heard from were excelling in their democratic engagement work.
Examples of Organising Work in Action
We’ve observed so many innovative approaches to community organising.
For example, some of the leaders at All The Small Things recently gave evidence at a key parliamentary meeting. This initial engagement drove a range of campaigns, such as The Raising Voices campaign, which aims to de-stigmatise poverty by sharing stories and collaborating with influential stakeholders and key decision-makers.
We’ve also witnessed inspiring and innovative approaches to community organising around land justice. For instance, E16 Community Land Trust (E16CLT) is currently engaged in negotiations with the council for two sites: one is a disused pub slated to be transformed into a community centre, while the other is a site with former garages where they intend to build nine homes. E16CLT is actively involving the community in this process to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing the local area. This community input will then be incorporated into the proposals for new land use, which will be presented to the council.
Similarly, Brighton and Hove Community Land Trust is cultivating community consent for a new campaign on ownership, alongside endeavours to reshape city-wide perceptions of land ownership. They are partnering with a whole range of local organisations to root this in the wants and needs of those most often excluded from these processes.
This alliance forming is a common theme. Triangular CIO is developing and leading a coalition of 25 refugee community organisations. Each represents a different nationality, for example, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Iran. Triangular’s main focus is to build more power and transition further into campaigning work by breaking down silos and identifying common challenges. Triangular and its coalition have now successfully engaged their MPs in different constituencies in Newcastle about migration issues.
Training and community outreach have also been key features.
Saathi House is finalising a mentorship program aimed at providing one-on-one support to women, covering topics such as confidence building and public speaking. They have been facilitating a listening cycle, posing the question, ‘What can you change if you have the power to change anything?’ to their leaders.
Similarly, Collaborative Women’s community have designed a range of campaign options that they are now surveying the local community on. The South East and East Asian Women’s Network have begun an online training programme for victims of trafficking to reclaim their voices. The Common Good Foundation has trained over 40 local leaders in Grimsby, who are now working together to take on the region’s biggest challenges.
Through and through, this is *incredible* lived-experience-led organising. Groups are deeply trusted by their community and focused on building their power to achieve lasting change.
Specific, specialist funding for organising has been utterly vital in achieving this.
Common Threads
Reflecting on our site visits and some of the work being done by our grantee partners, we observed some common threads which I have highlighted below:
- Building Power. Across various groups, there’s a consistent theme of building the power and agency of community members, whether through leadership development programs, mentorship initiatives, or engaging them in decision-making processes.
- Collaboration. Many groups are actively collaborating with other organisations, community members, and stakeholders to address common issues and achieve shared goals. This was a key criterion of the fund and it has been amazing to see it in action.
- Community-Centred Approach. The work of these groups is deeply rooted in the needs and aspirations of the communities they serve, emphasising community-led solutions and grassroots organising. This is critical because it enables the communities to take the lead and guide the direction of initiatives, ensuring that they are responsive to local realities and priorities. By involving community members in decision-making processes and actively engaging them in problem-solving, these groups foster a sense of ownership and agency among community members. This approach not only builds trust and solidarity within the community but also develops the capacity of individuals to become effective leaders and change agents in the long term.
- Advocacy and Campaigning. A significant focus of the work involves advocacy and campaigning on key issues such as poverty, land ownership, and migration, aiming to bring about systemic change and social justice. All the groups are locally rooted but with a big-picture theory of change.
Building upon these common threads, it is intriguing to explore how diverse groups have responded differently to receiving the CAF.
Some groups made strategic investments, where they utilised the funding for initiatives that strengthen community resilience, build organisational capacity, and advance their community organising efforts. Whereas other groups went for creativity and innovation as they utilised the funding to pilot new programmes and experiment with innovative approaches to support the community.
It has been great to see the emphasis on relationship building as the funding has enabled the groups to forge stronger relationships with community members, stakeholders, and funders, fostering trust, collaboration, and collective action to build their relational power.
Challenges in Supporting Grassroots Organising
While the Community Action Fund (CAF) has significantly built the power of grassroots groups, our site visits revealed several ongoing challenges that these groups face. Addressing these issues is crucial for funders to better support and sustain impactful community organising. Below, we outline some of the key challenges identified during our visits.
Lack of collaborative initiatives and infrastructure
Several groups raised the lack of collaborative infrastructure as one of the biggest challenges they are facing in their organising and campaigning work. A common theme that kept recurring was that organisations and groups were working in ‘silos’, not able to prioritise collaborative work.
As we delved deeper into why this may be the case, we found that this did not come from a place of malice, but due to having limited capacity and under-developed collaborative infrastructure in the sector.
Last year, our report mapping all UK foundation giving found that just 0.3% of grants had organising at the core. At the same time, very little money earmarked for social justice work is reaching groups operating at a local level, outside of London.
This lack of funding, combined with huge community needs, means that many groups have to prioritise applying for short-term, project-based grants. This leads to a competitive funding environment where collaboration is not encouraged and groups do not have the capacity to step back and plan long-term.
Groups told us that there are lots of organisations working to address similar issues, but the limited collaborative appetite squanders this potential.
One of the reasons so many groups have used their CAF funding to hire organisers is so they can connect these dots by building relational power. True collaboration is more than shared initiatives; it’s about recalibrating power dynamics for lasting change and the capacity to facilitate authentic dialogues.
The need for multi-year funding
As organising methodology takes time and is a long-run approach it is critical that we fund this work through multi-year funding.
Some of the groups raised that due to lack of multi-year funding, it is difficult to sustain the right staff as they tend to move to different roles, thus resulting in a lack of specialisation. This is important as the work quality and engagement deteriorate if the right person; who is emotionally intelligent and sensitive, is not delivering the sessions.
Multi-year funding is also a major issue as a lot of momentum is lost if the funding ends in a year. This also negatively impacts the confidence and engagement of the leaders who are engaging in this work as they lose motivation to participate in future initiatives.
We have written much more on these funding conditions here — and these findings were reinforced at every single site visit.
We were slightly distressed by how much gratitude groups showed to the Civic Power Fund for the one-off pot of money we were able to provide. What we offered was vital, but a drop in the ocean compared to what groups needed.
But funder power dynamics mean the groups are rarely encouraged to share what it is they need to do their best work. We saw that consistently throughout the visits, with groups often initially feeling they had to show us specific project outcomes when in fact we just wanted to listen and understand how money might help them build power.
Limited understanding of organising from funders
Several groups mentioned that a lot of the important relationship and trust-building work they do is not acknowledged and given significance by funders.
This may be due to this aspect of the work being difficult to monitor or a lack of understanding of deep-rooted organising.
For example, facilitating ‘house meetings’ where several leaders get together to strategise and build solidarity, alongside having ‘1to1s’ is not seen as ‘proper work’. We know this is where the vital work of building relational power happens.
It is important to consider that it takes a long time to work with leaders to develop their confidence gradually and for them to feel ready for democratic engagement work. It is not something they cannot leapfrog into.
Organising requires long-term commitment as the leaders they work with go on a journey, where they require some support at the initial stages, then they transition into participating in the workshops, which then leads to them feeling confident enough to get involved in democratic engagement work. However, as the examples above show — although it is deep, long-term work the day-to-day practice of organising delivers so much for communities.
Many groups led by lived experience leaders and other grassroots groups are not experts at writing funding bids and translating the organising work into funding jargon.
The struggle to articulate the essence of community organising in funding bids is more than a communication hurdle; it reflects a profound disconnect in understanding the grassroots dynamics. As a result, they miss out on much-needed resources. To address this challenge, one approach we’ve found valuable is our Learning and Evaluation Framework. This framework offers a different perspective on this work and provides a structured way to demonstrate its impact and value. You can explore this framework here.
It is important to reflect on the capacity needs identified by the groups we have engaged with. Whilst, financial support is crucial for this work, however, many groups have expressed a need for additional forms of support.
For example, access to our Governance Hub has been pivotal for support with governance or structure for groups like South Norwood Community Kitchen and Housing Action Teesside. Whereas, some of our groups benefited from coaching support on organising strategy. Additionally, some of the groups opted to activate micro-grants to prioritise wellbeing. These forms of support significantly enhance the work of the groups, complementing the financial assistance we provide as a specialist intermediary funder. Moving forward, it’s imperative that we continue to offer this comprehensive support alongside funding, recognising its integral role in empowering grassroots initiatives
We are grateful to be working alongside like-minded funders who are aiming to change this pattern. A number of our funders joined us on these site visits so they could see and better understand this work. This was a great opportunity for the groups and the funders alike and something we hope to continue this year.
Opportunities for Funders to resource
Grassroots Organising Initiatives: The CA shows that there are significant opportunities for funders to resource grassroots organising initiatives. There is a vibrant ecosystem of grassroots organising initiatives addressing various social, economic and environmental challenges. The work is incredible, but often unseen. It is incumbent on funders to find ways to get close to it.
Capacity Building and Leadership Development. There is a need for development programmes and support that build the capacity and leadership of the community members, particularly from those from marginalised backgrounds. Funders can support initiatives such as training workshops, mentorship programmes, or skill-building sessions that equip individuals with the tools and resources they need to drive positive change in their communities to amplify deep-rooted organising in the communities.
Collaborative infrastructure. The work above also shows how important it is that funders provide resources that support the development of collaborative infrastructure, coordination, resource sharing and collective action that will amplify the power of the grassroots groups and enhance the impact of this work. I have delved further into this point below.
This highlights the importance of continued funding in grassroots organising to win positive social change and the power of the communities. By strategically allocating resources to these areas, funders can play a crucial role in strengthening grassroots organising efforts and empowering communities. However, the groups fear that this momentum could end abruptly due to limited funding for campaigning and organising work.
Final reflections
As we reflect on this year’s site visits and engagement with our grantee partners, we are filled with admiration for the incredible work being done by grassroots groups across the UK. The dedication, creativity, and resilience of these communities are truly inspiring, and we are proud to have played a part in supporting their efforts.
However, understanding these patterns goes beyond acknowledgement; it’s a plea for tailored actions to mitigate the obstacles.
Recognising these gaps is more than identifying shortcomings; it involves recognising the systemic limitations and pushing for a fundamental reconsideration of funding approaches.
So, it’s not just about seeing the gaps; it’s about challenging the very systems that keep these gaps in place. It’s a way of signalling a dedication to a long-term vision of communities working together to win change that matters to them.
What’s next for us?
Looking forward we would like to continue our support for these remarkable groups.
Here are some of our key next steps:
- End-of-Grant Calls. We are conducting end-of-grant calls with our grantee partners to gather detailed feedback and understand their ongoing needs and challenges. This will help us refine our approaches and better tailor our support.
- Exploring Continued Funding. We are actively exploring ways to continue resourcing the groups. Whether through new funding rounds or innovative models, we aim to ensure sustained support for grassroots initiatives.
- Strengthening Our Support Structures. Based on the feedback from our grantees, we will enhance our support structures, such as the Governance Hub and coaching on organising strategy. We will also continue to offer micro-grants for well-being, recognising their importance in sustaining long-term efforts.
- Building Funder Collaborations. We will foster and expand our collaborations with like-minded funders. By sharing our experiences and insights, we hope to influence broader funding practices and encourage more holistic and empathetic approaches to supporting grassroots work.
