City and Hackney Community Chest Case Study
The community chest model brings together key representatives from across a local community to work in partnership and use local intelligence to agree funding priorities. Community chests can combine money from the NHS and the local authority as well as other sources such as philanthropy and businesses, to support activities in the voluntary and community sector via an accessible funding pot.
The approach was piloted in the seven boroughs of North East London, each of which used a slightly different approach to implementation to ensure that funding priorities aligned to their local population’s needs. City and Hackney (C&H) was one of these pilot sites.
Approach
In C&H, Hackney Giving, London Borough of Hackney (LBH), NEL Personalised Care programme (NHS) and the City and Hackney Neighbourhoods programme worked together to pilot a small grants programme for not-for-profit sector organisations.
Initial discussions were held between Hackney CVS and NHS colleagues. It was agreed that Hackney Giving would be the ideal mechanism for distributing funds. Hackney Giving is a local giving programme run by Hackney CVS, designed to offer a simple, effective and co-ordinated way for individuals and businesses to support grassroots community projects through funding, time or skills.
Hackney Giving worked with colleagues from NHS North East London to establish programme priorities, funding levels, eligibility criteria and timelines for programme delivery. They produced application guidance giving details of the funding and an application form, aiming to keep these as simple as possible.
Three ‘How to Apply’ workshops were held online to provide potential applicants with additional guidance. These were deliberately held on different days of the week and at different times of day, to give a greater breadth of access. Applications were assessed by Hackney Giving before being presented to a grant panel for approval – the panel consisted of representatives from NEL ICB, Hackney CVS and VCFSE organisations.
Criteria for funding
Grants of £2,500 would be awarded for work towards the following outcome:
“Increasing access to health services and financial support for people living in Hackney and the City who experience barriers to provision.”
This wording was chosen over “reducing barriers to access” due to the size of the grants available as it wouldn’t be able to make a significant difference to reducing the barriers that people experience but more realistically would help people to get past those barriers.
How was the grant money spent?
£25,000 was available for distribution to not-for-profit organisations in Hackney and/or the City of London. This was distributed as 10 separate grants of £2,500.
£3,750 was allocated to Hackney CVS for the administration of the programme through Hackney Giving.
Hackney Giving’s role included: developing the application guidance and form, running the application and assessment process, making payments, acting as a point of contact for grantees, visiting projects during delivery and processing monitoring forms.
Projects funded
The projects funded covered a wide range of activities that supported residents to access health and financial services. Examples include a community-based signposting and referral outreach programme, as well as programmes designed to support older residents to get online via peer support and to make refugees and asylum seekers aware of the health system and how to access services.
A few examples of the impact of this support includes improved confidence, empowerment to self-advocate, and supporting with loneliness.

Feedback from grantees included:
“Participants were able to avail themselves of technology in the modern world given the increasing need to use technology post Covid19 pandemic in accessing GP services and engaging with the outside world… Many who have had negative experiences with learning new skills and technology were able to overcome their fears and anxiety in accessing online services.”
“By addressing language, cultural, and digital barriers, our ongoing project is empowering individuals with IBD to access crucial health services and financial support, and is enhancing their well-being and quality of life.”
“The convention empowered young people to take charge of their mental health. They felt more confident in seeking help, engaging in self-care, and accessing community resources. This empowerment has led to greater independence and self-advocacy.”
Highlights
23 applications were received in total, of which 10 were successful.
The VCFSE demonstrated its effectiveness in increasing access to health and financial information. The value of working in partnership across statutory and non-statutory sectors was highlighted with many success stories and examples of how these projects made a difference to local residents.
Feedback from grant-holders shows that they found Hackney Giving’s approach to be transparent and supportive.
Learning points and challenges
- Timing: A challenge for Hackney Giving was the condensed programme timescale. As a consequence of a delay with the funding, Hackney Giving’s small team interleaved two grants assessment processes for different funders at the same time.
- Level of funding: The level of funding provided was low. This was raised as a challenge by several organisations, and meant that projects were small in nature and not sustainable. Not-for-profit sector organisations need adequate resources to be able to undertake work of this value: funding is key for effective delivery.
- Administration costs: The administration fee of £3,750 did not cover Hackney Giving’s costs. Without grant funding from other sources, which meant that staff were already in place and operational, the programme would not have been able to run.