The state of community-based advice: workshop for funders

The Greater London Authority (GLA)’s Financial Hardship team are hosting an interactive online workshop about funding welfare and income-maximisation advice in community settings.  

It’s well known that for many Londoners in financial hardship, getting social welfare legal advice can be a lifeline. When this advice is delivered in local, trusted, culturally appropriate settings, this can generate significant return on investment for funders, enabling more people who are traditionally underserved by advice services to maximise their incomes and improve their lives.

Since 2021, the GLA has been funding partnerships between advice agencies and community locations like food banks, schools, community centres and more, through our Advice in Community Settings grant programme. We are keen to speak with advice funders about the evaluation of our community-based advice funding, discuss the evidence base and return on investment for delivering advice interventions in community settings, and have a wider discussion with funders about community-based and grassroots advice.

This workshop is from 2:00-3:30pm on 8 February and is aimed at people with strategic oversight of advice funding in London. The discussion will invite funders to share your perspectives on funding community-based advice and identify opportunities for strategic collaboration (as effective community-based interventions require a multi-partner approach).

We are also hosting a workshop on 31 January, aimed at people with direct responsibility for managing grant programmes, which will be a discussion about funder practice in this area. If you are aware of someone at your organisation who may be interested in attending that meeting, please let me know.

If you, or someone you work with, would like to attend either workshop, please email Lizzie.Mahoney@london.gov.uk.