Hackney Giving supports voluntary and community organisations that are likely to be beyond the reach of an individual donor: ones that are doing really good work locally, but which you may never have heard of. The programme is based around the idea that “everyone has something to give”. We welcome donations of all sizes and we channel these gifts to community groups and charities, so that Hackney and City residents benefit. We work to support local communities on an ongoing basis and during times of difficulty.
Through our grants, we work to:
Hackney has a richly diverse population and when we’re making grants, we aim to do it in the fairest possible way. This means that we fund a wide range of communities and groups, reflecting our mission to work for a fairer society.
Hackney Giving is run by Hackney CVS, a registered charity that has been supporting other voluntary and community sector groups since 1997.
Working for a fairer society is at our heart and all our activities are in line with this aim. By working in partnership with the NHS and Hackney Council, as well as using funds given by residents and businesses, we have distributed more than £2.5 million to the voluntary sector locally since April 2020.
Our grants have included support during the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently with the cost of living, as well as funding activities that bring people together. We are a responsible and trusted grant-maker with a solid track record.
You can read more about our history here.
There are many ways to give, all valuable and all helping people locally.
You can donate now and contribute to our next community grants round, do some fundraising, give in-kind donations or offer your premises for an event. See our individual giving or business giving pages for more details on how you can support Hackney Giving.
We are currently working to develop ways to give which allow companies to meet social value requirements when undertaking public sector contracts.
Your gift is valued by Hackney Giving, the groups we fund and the individuals they work for. Thank you.
Organisations supported by Hackney Giving must be run on a not for profit basis. Each time we run a grants round, we publish clear guidelines on who can apply and the type of project that will be funded. We work closely with organisations distributing larger amounts through Hackney Giving (such as our public sector partners and larger businesses), in order to develop grants criteria that match their priorities for the funding.
Charities and community groups apply for a specified project or piece of work.
We are an open and transparent funder and publish our grants data on 360Giving.
Donations of funds from individuals and businesses are held in a central Hackney Giving grants pot until there is enough money to hold a grants round.
City Bridge Foundation supports Hackney Giving with a core grant, which means we have the staff in place to run the programme. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the Foundation.
We add an administration fee to bespoke funding programmes. This allows us to increase the staffing capacity of the programme in order to deliver the work.
Donations from the community are split: 12% is retained as a contribution to the cost of running the programme. This includes vital elements such as financial management, publicity, IT costs – even the website you are currently reading. This helps us to be a more sustainable programme, able to help communities in Hackney and the City in the long term. We are able to benefit from Gift Aid on donations from many individuals, which more than covers this contribution.
88% of the value of monetary donations is given to community use. 75% of the donation is allocated for immediate spend, and 13% goes into the Fund for City and Hackney, the endowment that we are developing. This, effectively, is “saving up” for the future: growing the value of an invested fund so that it can be a long term source of funding for the area.
Please contact us for more information or sign up to the Hackney Giving newsletter to hear our news.
