5 reflections on embarking on Participatory Grant making
BBC Children in Need are paving the way for non-particpatory funders to move decisions into the hands of their communities. With support from Camden Giving, they have set-up their first Pan-London Participatory Grantmaking Fund. 10 young Londoners are coming together each month to award core and project grants and since February 2025 they have distributed £936,477 through Participatory Grantmaking. Lisa Bedding - BBC Children In Need’s Head of Impact (South) - has shared 5 reflections about their PGM journey so far.
We’ve talked a lot about sharing power with young people at BBC Children in Need. We knew we wanted to involve young people in our funding decisions. We hoped it would make us better grant makers. We hoped it would give us more insight into the issues affecting children and young people in London. We hoped it would encourage the next generation of grant makers, and we knew we wanted to build advocates for change in their communities. But is it succeeding?
We’re eight months into our participatory grant making journey at BBC Children in Need, and here are my five main reflections so far:
1) You can’t deliver it alone
As the largest independent funder of youth work, we’re proud of our role - but we’re always learning, evolving, and deepening our understanding of youth work, youth facilitation, and participatory grant making. Partnering with Camden Giving has been an essential part of the success to the programme. They bring the expertise that we don’t! We’ve been so impressed with the time and effort they continuously put in, from leading on recruitment to ensuring the young grant makers are supported and are able to bring their best selves to the meetings. The strong bonds they have with the Young Grant Makers is really evident, and it creates an environment where they are put at ease and can clearly go to them with any issues.
2) Use a young people first approach to reduce imbalance
When presenting applications in the grant making meetings, we started with young grant-maker’s analysis and reflections on the applications during the meetings placed their voices at the centre of the process. This approach helped avoid tokenism, ensured they were not influenced by staff comments and reinforced a sense of empowerment and ownership in decision-making. Staff followed up on young grant-maker’s points in ways that validated their contributions without reframing or undermining them.
3) Youth voice really does impact funding decisions
Young grantmakers brought lived experience, realism, and fresh priorities that enriched decisions. For example, young grantmakers quickly spotted applications that appeared to rely on AI. This led to more critical discussions on the ethical and responsible use of AI, which are now informing internal thinking and shaping future guidance. Further, the young grantmakers highlighted projects where there were concerns around accessibility, leading to more nuanced discussions on inclusivity in projects. The young grantmakers pushed for reflection on value of short-term projects (e.g. projects spanning a few days) vs long-term weekly support; especially for organisations working with children and young people with complex needs and requirements. Their input led to more thoughtful funding choices around project duration and sustainability. Young grantmakers drew on their lived experiences of attending similar projects to share personal preferences, observations, and insights, bringing practical context to the discussions.
4) Confidence takes time
Through the programme, young grantmakers developed a wide range of skills - including confidence, grantmaking, communication, critical thinking, and collaborative working. They’ve really demonstrated growth in analytical thinking and curiosity. These experiences support their ability to contribute in professional environments, helping them build networks and gain valuable exposure. This has happened over a number of months, no overnight.
5) You can’t plan for the unplanned
The transition to a new grant-making system at BBC Children in Need required a temporary pause in our funding activity, which meant we weren’t able to deliver all the planned sessions with our Young Grant Makers. We worked with Camden Giving to design an alternative programme of activities including attending project visits, attending a reflection session to talk about our experiences so far, and contributing ideas to BBC Children in Need’s local funding priorities in London.
A message from one BBC Children in Need’s Grantmakers to the next generation of Young Grantmakers