Broadgate Community Fund

The Broadgate Community Fund, which launched in 2021, is a unique collaboration between British Land and businesses based at Broadgate that aims to provide funding for local charities and social enterprises which have a positive impact on the communities surrounding the campus.   

Funding is allocated to community groups across Hackney and Tower Hamlets. Participating Broadgate customers, who make a financial contribution, review the applications for funding and agree the beneficiaries each year. The Fund would not be possible without the generous contributions from Broadgate customers.

A special thank you to Western Asset Management, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Bravura Solutions, Herbert Smith Freehills, Peel Hunt, William Blair Int. Ltd, Cisco App Dynamics, Twenty One Engineering and Sir Robert McAlpine who donated, alongside British Land, to raised an incredible £100,000 for the first round in 2022/23.

This funding supported seven charities to carry out work in areas such as wellbeing for older people, improving the lives of children and young people and homelessness over a 12-month period.

Accumulate

Accumulate is a youth homelessness charity in London that offers creative workshops to young, homeless people living in hostels or temporary accommodation.

The donations from the Broadgate Community Fund have supported 14 people experiencing homelessness through their Confidence Through Creativity Project. Participants engaged in 10 weekly photography and creative writing workshops culminating in an exhibition of their artwork at Autograph (The Association of Black Photographers) in Hackney.

Clapton Commons Community Organisation (CCCO)

CCCO was set up in 2013 by a small group of neighbours with the shared aim of improving their local neighbourhood for the common good of all residents.

The organisation hosted eight community meals and provided recreational activities, including poetry and dance, to 187 older residents in Clapton Common, Upper Clapton and Stamford Hill.

The grant also allowed CCCO to support their charity partner Amity, a grassroots community organisation, to offer the London Living Wage which was an important step in their development.

Laburnum Boat Club

Laburnum Boat Club is a voluntary organisation which supports the personal development of children, young people and their families in the local community through participation in a range of water-based activities.

The grant was used to run a Youth Watersports Training Project, which gave 15 young people at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) qualifications in a range of water-based sports activities, including paddle sport instructing, coaching and aquatic first aid.

My Big Career

My Big Career works with schools in the UK’s most disadvantaged communities supporting each young person’s individual needs.

A total of 722 disadvantaged young people from 13 schools in Tower Hamlets received one-to-one career coaching, CV & interview workshops and attended five employer insight days to develop their career aspirations and support their access to higher education and employment opportunities.

St. Peter’s Community Wellbeing Projects

The Broadgate Community Fund supported the delivery costs of a Green Core Gardening Therapy Club, a project offering therapeutic gardening activities to 45 older women from global majority communities experiencing or at risk of low-level mental health problems.

The funding also supported the charity to employ two sessional Garden Project Workers who previously supported the project as volunteers.

St. Mary’s Secret Garden

St. Mary’s Secret Garden offers a safe space where people with support needs and the local community can get hands-on experience of gardening, gain a sense of inclusion, and receive the benefits of horticulture and other ecotherapy activities.

Their grant provided 45 young people with beekeeping, gardening, and entrepreneurial skills through the delivery of ‘Buzzing’, an environmentally inspired training and skills development project for young people with learning disabilities.

Streets of Growth

Streets of Growth is a grass-roots charity specialising in outreach and targeted intervention to re-engage and equip young adults aged 15-25. Money raised from the Broadgate Community Fund supported 57 young people at risk or vulnerable to anti-social behaviour or criminal offending with employability training and work experience placements in the creative industry.

An update on round 2

The Broadgate Community Fund continued its success, raising a total of £102,000 in round two. A big thank you to Herbert Smith Freehills, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, Peel Hunt, Scotia Bank SIC, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Sir Robert McAlpine and Western Asset Management who donated, alongside British Land. The funds have now been awarded to 6 beneficiaries including; Clapton Commons Community Organisation (CCCO), Goldstar Creative Marketing, My Big Career, Streets of Growth, Stitches in Time and Hackney People First. They are currently implementing programmes and initiatives to support communities local to Broadgate to navigate the cost-of-living crisis and improve employability, social mobility and inclusion.

Join us and make a real difference

The Broadgate Community Fund, in partnership with The London Community Foundation, facilitates cross campus collaborations which enable us all to do more, locally, together.

 Round three of the Fund is now open. By becoming a contributing business, you will join a network of companies working together to make a meaningful difference and create positive social impact on your doorstep.

For more information on the Community Fund, or how to get involved with volunteering opportunities, please contact our Social Impact Manager, Sabina.