From 1 May 2021, applying to the Newham Solidarity Fund will become first come, first served. If you would like to apply from the Fund, please apply as soon as possible on or after the first day of each calendar month.
We wish this change was not necessary, but unfortunately applications to the Fund are now more than double the amount we receive from monthly donors to the Fund. This means we are no longer able to support everyone who would like to use the Fund each month. The earlier you apply, the higher chance you will have that we can support you.
As a temporary measure, we will also be prioritising neighbours who have applied to the Fund less than four times. We have decided to do this to ensure that neighbours who have not had a chance to use the Fund much, have a better chance of accessing support.
What happens if I have applied four times or more?
Neighbours who have applied to the Fund four times or more will still be able to apply, however, we may not be able to support you. If by the final week of each calendar month we still have funds leftover, we will open these up to you in order of when you made your application. We are trying to raise more money so we hope we will be able to expand the number of people that can use the Fund monthly in future. If we are successful, we will be able to remove the temporary prioritisation of neighbours who have applied less than four times. We are sorry that until we raise more money, we won’t be able to continue to support you in the way we have so far.
How can I help raise more money?
If you are a backer for the Fund, please join our #newhamneighbours campaign and tell your networks about the Fund and why it is important to give to it. We need your help to raise our monthly donations and meet the growing demand for the Fund.
If any neighbours applying to or backing the Fund have questions about these changes, please email us at [email protected].
In solidarity,
The Newham Solidarity Fund Admin team (Hanno, Kirsty, Phoenix, Janani, Caro, Robin, Jack & Rebecca)
The Newham Solidarity Fund is not means tested so we do not make an assessment of who needs the money most. The only criteria we have is that people using the Fund can share a proof of address to show they live in Newham. The Fund operates on the basis of trust: we ask everyone to give what they can and take what they need.
Since the Fund started in October 2020, we have been fortunate to raise more money than neighbours needed from the Fund. However, as demand for the Fund has grown, we now have over twice as many neighbours applying to use the Fund than we can support. That is why these changes are now coming into place.
I have attached a diagram below in case helpful to explain how the Fund will work from 1 May 2021. All neighbours will still be able to apply, but we will prioritise neighbours who have applied less than four times. We are doing this because many neighbours have not yet had a chance to use the Fund and this will help give them a better chance of being able to access support.
I hope that helps clarify the changes a bit more.
Best wishes, Rebecca On behalf of the Newham Solidarity Fund
Thank you Rebecca for your answer, I read it carefully and I understand this as a diplomatical answer. My question was on the side of other things as fonds by the European law of human rights and justice should work on the principle of helping people by they needs, because obviously people are applying here because there is some need they are in, I don't remember that there is a clausul in the law that people are getting help because they are applying first time. To be honest I never heard about something like that in my life. As well it is interesting for people who help the fond, for example if in future I want to donate money to the fund it is a very strange information that my money goes to first who applies. I know that you have good intentions with the fund but as in my family there are experts in Political science social justice and long term experience in fonds, charities and similar organisations they never heard about this model of work. How is this fond registered? Thank you for your answer
I'm sorry my response did not help clear things up. I wonder if it's helpful to explain a bit more about how the Fund came about. We are not legally constituted, rather we are group of neighbours who raised a pot of money to support other neighbours after the outbreak of the pandemic. This type of support is known as mutual aid and it adopts a different approach to the mainstream approach of charity.
We are not means tested in the way you describe because means testing can create barriers to accessing funds. For example, unlike the benefits system, you do not have to prove your financial situation or residency status to us. This means people with no recourse to public funds are able to access the Fund and we do get a number of applications on this basis (although we don't ask, people decide to tell us when they are applying or share that information in the feedback form).
I'm not sure if it's helpful, but another example of a similar kind of community model might be www.freecycle.org, where people post about items they no longer need and are happy to give away for free. Anyone who wants the items messages that person to collect them. Typically that works on a first come, first served basis too. In our case, it is money that neighbours have been able to spare, rather than e.g. a table and chairs they no longer need.
One of us would be happy to chat by phone if that would be helpful. You can also read more about our constitution and values on the website.
Best wishes, Rebecca On behalf of the Newham Solidarity Fund
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