Guest Blog from CBF's Anchor Programme: LGBT Consortium
The Anchor Programme is an innovative funding programme from City Bridge Foundation, London’s biggest independent charitable funder. The programme awards long-term core funding to second tier organisations providing support to London’s frontline groups. Whilst different in focus and approach, these organisations are all driven by equitable practice and focus on systems change to address the marginalisation and discrimination experienced by those with intersecting identities. TSIP is the Learning Partner for the programme, and we work with the funded organisations to harness their collective learning to reach the aims of the programme. In this series of blogs, we speak to the first round of organisations funded about what the Anchor Programme means to them. Today, LGBT Consortium.
Tell us a little bit about LGBT Consortium?
We are LGBT Consortium, the UK’s infrastructure and membership body for the LGBT+ sector. Our goal is to support LGBT+ groups to become stronger and more sustainable, so they can provide essential services and advocate for the rights of individuals in the community. We work with and support more than 215 LGBT+ groups in London.
What does the Anchor Programme mean to you and what will you be doing with the funding?
Our aim with the Anchor Programme funding is to build capacity, capability and sustainability to create the visibility and confidence needed for the London LGBT+ sector to have a louder voice, and greater political and public understanding and impact. Being an Anchor-funded organisation means that we now have an incredible capacity to support London LGBT+ organisations compared to before.
With the Anchor Programme’s funding, we are focusing on co-producing evidence with, raising the profile of, and resourcing the London LGBT+ sector. Putting London LGBT+ organisations at the forefront at our operations ensures that they lead on decisions and direction; they work with us to generate insight through knowledge exchange sessions and roundtables, focusing on among other LGBTQ+ Londoners over 50, LGBTQ+ Disabled Londoners, LGBTQ+ young Londoners, and trans and non-binary Londoners.
What does systems change mean in the context of your organisation / the Anchor Programme?
The long-term nature of the Anchor Programme’s funding further allows us to have an agile and dynamic approach in responding to the evolving needs of our communities, freeing us of the limitations to project-based or restricted funding.
In order for us to address and enact systems change, we first must highlight that existing systems in their current shape are not designed for LGBT+ communities. Understanding systems change through an intersectional and anti-racist lens is necessary to highlight racism, transphobia and islamophobia as systemic challenges of major concern to our sector. Recent far-right racist riots across the country and government rollback of trans+ rights are but the latest evidence of systems change being long overdue in the UK.
The way LGBT+ Consortium approaches systems change from a practical point is by prioritising co-production, wellbeing, consent and non-extractive ways of generating insight. Going into this funding programme we knew the limitations of our knowledge about community experiences, and the Anchor Programme funding provides resources for our collaboration with London LGBT+ organisations to address their challenges and achieve their visions.
How will the Anchor Programme help impact your communities?
This work is not without its challenges. The aggravating cost of living crisis and social unrest experienced by wider UK society are deepening the challenges in the LGBT+ communities we work to support. The increasingly hostile political and media landscape for our trans+ and non-binary and LGBT+ global majority-led organisations means that we continually rethink our approach to best meet community needs.
We recognise that over the duration of the Anchor Programme, the challenge is not just to the system – but to ourselves as communities as well. The security of long-term funder support strengthens our resilience in systems that do not serve us, and we will work towards better resourcing for London LGBT+ communities. Collaborating with London LGBT+ organisations and partners will be crucial for carving a space in which our sector can grow to achieve systems change.