On Monday 11th November, community and voluntary sector leaders, funders, and key stakeholders gathered at JPMorganChase in London for the final event of the Pathways 2 Economic Opportunities (P2E) programme.
This three-year, £2 million P2E Programme was funded by JPMorganChase since November 2020 and delivered by our partners, Action for Race Equality (ARE) and The Ubele Initiative.
It supported Black and Minority ethnic-led ‘by and for’ organisations currently providing employment, enterprise and financial health (EEFH) support in London. The programme aimed to demonstrate the importance of community and infrastructure organisations in addressing inequalities, creating new opportunities post-COVID and helping to remove barriers to economic opportunity in London. Crucially, through a co-design approach, P2E provided a platform for participating organisations to share expertise, insights and learning and create a shared vision for the programme that reimagined the balance of power between funders and Black and minority-led organisations.
Impact of organisational development: reflections
Monday’s celebration event was a chance to look back at the programme’s impact on 19 Black and Minority-led organisations who received a combination of funding and organisational development support (through workshops, peer-learning activities, and bespoke consultancy) over the latter two years (or phases) of the programme.
View the full list of funded organisations
Speakers at the event included Colleen Ebbitt, Vice President, Global Philanthropy, EMEA for JPMorganChase; Megan Wong, P2E Programme Lead at ARE; and Karl Murray, The Ubele Initiative, who all spoke of the power of community-led solutions to support financial growth and economic development across London’s Black and Minority-ethnic communities.
A key element of the afternoon, which brought funders, Black and Minority-led organisations, and other community stakeholders into the room, was a panel discussion entitled ‘Impact on the frontline: insights, learnings and reflections from the cohort’, between programme participants Kofi Oppong, Founder of Urban MBA; Farah Mohammed, Founder of You Press; and ARE Associate and Founder of ThinkFirst Comms, Alex Louis who worked with many of the groups on the programme through 1:1 consultancy.
The panel spoke of the immediate impact of the organisational development they received post-Covid, sharing case studies and stories from their beneficiaries, and left a final message to funders to create more sustainable funder-models, and support long-term growth and partnerships in the future.
My consultant, Tutu, understood my needs right away, creating a space where our conversations felt genuine. She encouraged me to articulate my thoughts clearly, making each session impactful and tailored to my goals. Ethnically and diverse consultants makes a big difference and I was able to open up a curiosity that I didn’t know was there and I’m looking to explore that going forward.Farah Mohammoud, You Press
Evaluation and recommendations, both for funders and organisations
The event saw the publication of two reports reflecting on the learnings of the P2E programme - covering an overall evaluation of the programme from The Ubele Initiative and specific insights into organisational development from Action for Race Equality. Between them, these reports offer a comprehensive view of the lessons learned over the past two years and serves as a guide for future programmes seeking to address racial and economic inequalities.
Among the conclusions and recommendations shared were:-
- The need for tailored, culturally competent support that reflects the unique challenges faced by Black and Minority-led organisations
- The importance of collaboration, to make efficient use of resources available and to create spaces to share and find support
- Simplification of reporting and monitoring, especially for those smaller community organisations
- Clarity around the availability of core funding to allow organisations to strengthen their capacity in the long term
- The great need for investing in organisational development, especially in strategic direction and equipping of teams
As the event concluded, attendees were encouraged to continue the momentum built by the P2E programme, and keep on holding open dialogue with funders like JPMorganChase and The London Community Foundation, and other organisations like Action for Race Equality and The Ubele Initiative.
It's been a privilege to work with such a diverse, innovative and creative group of organisations - building equity, inclusion and resilience within the charitable sector and improving economic outcomes for Black and Minoritised communities facing racial and economic inequalities. The employment, enterprise and financial health (EEFH) opportunities created across the capital by these trusted, local, specialist employability groups will help make London a fair and more equitable city.Paul Buchanan, CEO, The London Community Foundation
We would like to thank JPMorganChase, Action for Race Equality and The Ubele Initiative for collaborating on this opportunity to strengthen the Black and Minority-led sector in London. The London Community Foundation is committed to continue working to make London a fair and more equitable place for the whole city.
This blog is based on an original article produced by Action for Race Equality.
