Making decisions collectively, shaped by community knowledge
At Two Ridings, we believe that the best funding decisions are made when they are informed by the people who know their communities best.
Our approach to Participatory Grant Making puts communities at the heart of how funding is designed and distributed. At the core of this approach is participatory decision making – bringing together people with first-hand experience of local issues and community knowledge to help shape funding priorities, decide where funding will have the greatest impact, and identify the organisations best placed to deliver it. Rather than relying solely on traditional funding panels, this approach creates space for local insight and people with different experiences to guide funding decisions.
“The best funding decisions are grounded in people’s real experiences and local knowledge.”
We know that participatory decision making isn’t a single model. Different funds require different approaches, and we work with varying levels of participation depending on the purpose of each fund. Across all of them, our aim is the same: to make funding more informed, more equitable and more closely connected to the communities it exists to serve.
Different funds, different decision making approaches
Participatory decision making looks different across our funding programmes.
The York Community Fund represents our most participatory approach. People in the community help shape the fund from the very beginning, working together to agree the funding priorities, application process, grant size and how the fund is promoted. They also review applications and make the final funding decisions, ensuring local knowledge is at the heart of every stage.
For the North Yorkshire Coast Fund, the funding priorities are already established, but young people sit alongside other panel members with an equal voice in decision making. Their perspective brings fresh insight, helping ensure funding reflects the aspirations, opportunities and challenges facing children and young people in coastal communities.
The Hull Community Fund brings together people across the city to assess applications and make funding decisions. Their understanding of the Hull’s communities, networks and grassroots organisations adds valuable context that cannot be captured in applications alone.
For The Local Fund for the Harrogate District, panel members recognise both the district’s strengths and its hidden challenges. The Heart of Yorkshire Fund panel draws on the experience of people who know Selby and its surrounding areas well.
Two Ridings also manages four wind farm community benefit funds, where panels are made up of people who live and work close to each wind farm. This ensures funding supports projects that deliver lasting benefits for the communities living closest to the developments.
Participation in action: A fund by York, for York
Launched in 2024, the York Community Fund was designed to be a fund shaped by York, for York. It supports community organisations with the funding, stability and support they need to make a lasting difference across the city.
Funding decisions are made through a fully participatory process. Most recently twelve people with first-hand experience of the social and economic challenges facing York worked together to design the application guidance, review applications and make the final funding decisions.
Importantly, participation doesn’t end when grants are awarded. After the first funding round, those same residents and charity leaders on the panel reflected on what had worked well and where the process could be improved. Their ideas led to a simpler application process, more proportionate reporting requirements and a funding experience that places less administrative burden on community organisations, allowing them to focus on delivering the work that matters.
“By listening, learning and adapting together, we’ve created a simpler process that lets community organisations focus on what matters most.”
This ongoing learning also led to the creation of York Communities of Practice – regular gatherings where funded organisations come together to share learning and explore opportunities to collaborate. These sessions have become valued spaces for reflection and mutual support, with people participating describing them as places where they feel heard, encouraged and connected.
For us at Two Ridings, participatory decision making is not simply about who sits around the funding table. It is about building stronger relationships with communities, learning together, and continually improving how funding works for the people it is intended to benefit.
Where it all started
Two Ridings Community Foundation first foray into Participatory Grant Making started in 2021 with the Deciding Together Fund. We are openly sharing our experiences so that other funders can feel empowered to start their Participatory grant making journey.
Just so you know, we didn’t always get it ‘right’!
Contact our Head of Grants
Contact Thomas Waring to discuss our grant making approach
Call Thomas on 01904 929500
Email [email protected]