The Kensington & Chelsea Foundation invests in local Organisation Champions as part of its long-term commitment to the North Kensington community
Through a partnership between the Kensington & Chelsea Foundation and the Big Lottery Fund, £240,000 has been awarded to local organisations who were exceptional in the response to the Grenfell Tower tragedy and are continuing to empower and support local people in the North Kensington community. The K&C Foundation has invested £190,000 with a further £50,000 from the Big Lottery Fund, the largest community funder in the UK.
To be considered as an Organisation Champion, community organisations were asked to submit an Expression of Interest and in the spirit of collaboration were invited to commend others they felt had played a key role in response to the fire.
A panel with local knowledge met with organisation representatives to thank them for their outstanding work and to discuss their future plans to support the community. The panel included representatives from the Big Lottery Fund, Cynthia Dize, local resident and K&C Foundation trustee, Eman Yosry, local resident and Zoe Dainton, a former Grenfell Tower resident and Grenfell United Committee Member.
Zoe Dainton says “It’s important to me that the amazing local organisations who did so much for the survivors, the bereaved and many others who were affected by the fire should receive recognition. Not only that, they deserve to be helped to support us all as we begin to rebuild our community”.
To enable sustained support for local people, it’s intended that grants will be repeated in 2019 and 2020 by both the K&C Foundation and the Big Lottery Fund subject to successful annual outcomes.
“It was a privilege to be part of the panel to hear the stories of how our local community partners did what they did to help people during the early days post-Grenfell and to hear their determination and plans to support people for the long-term” Susan Dolton, K&C Foundation Director.
Elly De Decker, Head of Funding at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “This investment in North Kensington’s community organisations is important because local people understand what’s needed in their community better than anyone else.”
Organisation Champions is the second strand of the K&C Foundation’s Grenfell Community Development Fund which will see £1.6 million invested in the North Kensington community between 2018-2020. The first strand is Green Shoots, an ongoing source of funding for small, one-off projects to be enjoyed by local people with grants of up to £1,000.