Our Capacity Building Programme offers free workshops and a Whatsapp network and is open to anyone living, working or studying in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets or Waltham Forest.
It’s free to sign up for the programme, and it’s open to all new and old applicants. It can make a significant difference to take part in terms of application advice, support and sharing of best practices.
The Capacity Building Programme is part of our innovative five-year £10mn Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, powered by Westfield Stratford City.
In 2024-25, we are delighted to present our fourth year of the Capacity Building Programme, which we are hosting in partnership with award-winning social entrepreneur Lisa Stepanovic MBE.
It’s vitally important that the Foundation for Future London arms our communities, local organisations, and grantees with the tools and expertise to develop and manage life-changing projects, which are part of our role as a sustainable development organisation.
We encourage you to join this programme by emailing capacitybuilding.ffl@outlook.com.
Upcoming Grant Guidance Workshops
Join one of our free Capacity Building Programme training workshops. All events are free and open to individuals, organisations and businesses working and living across the local communities in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
Fireside Chat and Q&A with Anita Eade
17 March 2025 6-8pm on Zoom
During this fireside chat and Q&A with Anita, we’ll explore language and the importance of using empowering words.
Join special guest Anita Eade for this fireside chat with Lisa Stepanovic and Zak Addae-Kodua. During this fireside chat and Q&A with Anita, we’ll explore language and the importance of using empowering words when speaking about beneficiaries we work with. We’ll also be discussing equity, shifting power, people-led approaches, funding, strategy, business planning, and everything in between. You’ll learn about different techniques and ways of working to help strengthen your own charity or social enterprise and have the opportunity to ask questions, too.
You will leave with:
- Respectful and language alternative examples
- Principals for Equitable practice
- More confidence and understanding of people-led approaches
- Loads of gems for funning your enterprise!
“I’m excited that our community has access to this session. Anita inspired me to change the language I used when speaking about the young people I work with at Social Ark. I’ve learned so much from her over the years, and she’s an absolute legend!” – Lisa Stepanovic MBE
This event is free and open to individuals, organisations and businesses working and living across the local communities in the London Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets,and Waltham Forest.
Please register your place and we will send you details about how to participate closer to the time. Places will be made available on a first come, first served basis.
About Anita Eade (was Kerwin-Nye):
Anita is a charity leader with 30 years experience building and running multi million pound programmes and fundraising across multiple funding sources. Currently Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications at WWT (a large environment charity) Anita was formerly Director at YHA (youth hostels) and the founder of Whole School SEND (a 2000 strong schools programme with a focus on inclusion.)
Anita is working class and realised early on in her charity career that the charity sector is a middle class culture with power in the hands of a few. Funding and influence held by the largest national bodies. Her work has attempted to put access and inclusion at the core of a charity’s work – rather than as a nice to have at the edges. Language and models of power are key to this – as is calling it out. This does mean she is not always very popular and has been called a ‘difficult woman’ on many occasions. Indeed she is currently designing the t-shirt.
Mother of four kids and her husband are active community workers alongside and are currently in the battle to get their school refusing son to into education.
See all our events on Eventbrite
Guidance Sessions Videos
You can watch recordings from past workshops.
Watch these recorded sessions from our Year 3 and see presentations for all three funds from Lisa Stepanovic MBE.
General Guidance Session
Applying for Small Grant Scheme Sessions
Applying for Medium and Large Grant Scheme Sessions
Case Study: previously funded projects
Learn more out more about our grantees’s stories and experiences in getting funding and the projects we’ve funded.
Watch this film featuring Year 2 grantees Eastside, Loop Labs and True Cadence.
The film was produced and directed by Chris Baker with Editor Will Cole and Colourist Harvey Gibson.
Capacity Building Programme – Lead
The Foundation for Future London is pleased to work with Lisa Stepanovic MBE, who facilitates the Capacity Building Programme.
Lisa Stepanovic MBE is a working-class, award-winning social entrepreneur, experienced businesswoman, activist and mentor who was born and raised in London’s East End. Lisa is best known as the founder of Social Ark; Social Ark builds on Lisa’s many years of experience in running her own businesses and supporting hundreds of entrepreneurs on their journey, especially those from working-class backgrounds who often find themselves excluded from mainstream incubator and accelerator programmes. Lisa is passionate about social inclusion and tackling challenges in under-resourced communities, she’s also a Lived Experience third sector consultant specialising in programme design and building sustainable communities.
Twitter/X @Lisa_Stepanovic