Community Sparks
Community Sparks started with a simple question: How do you invest in communities that have received very little investment for many years?
Poplar is one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in the UK. It is also home to communities experiencing multiple forms of deprivation, alongside many small resident-led groups with deep local knowledge but limited access to funding and organisational support.
Rather than starting with a grants programme immediately, Tower Hamlets CVS spent the first six months listening.
We met residents where they already were, in community centres, coffee mornings, parks, faith settings and local events. We built relationships, through co-production workshops understood what mattered to local people and explored what kinds of support would genuinely help grassroots groups thrive.
Community Sparks grew from those conversations.
Coming soon: Click here for the Community Sparks Poplar January 2025 to July 2026 Impact Report .
Building the foundations
During the first six months we focused on relationships rather than funding.
Activities included:
- Community outreach.
- Conversations with Neighbours in Poplar, as an established well-known organisation in Poplar.
- Speaking to local residents.
- Mapping community assets.
- Identifying existing grassroots groups and community spaces.
- Co-production workshops.
- An Open Day introducing residents to local organisations and services.
- Identifying gaps in local provision.
- Supporting groups before applications opened.
By the time funding launched, residents already understood the programme because they had shaped it.
From community development to community investment
The original intention was to support hyperlocal community development, as funded by The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington.
As the programme evolved, the Wakefield and Tetley trust became interested in the approach Tower Hamlets CVS was taking to grassroots development and community capacity building.
Together we explored whether participatory budgeting could become part of the programme.
This led to the creation of the Community Sparks Grants Programme, enabling local residents to decide which ideas should receive funding.
The result combined long-term community development with resident-led investment.
- Supporting physical and mental wellbeing – projects that helped people access services, information, and healthier lifestyles.
- Building community understanding – projects that brought people together, reduced isolation, and helped neighbours connect.
The Community Sparks Model
Community Sparks wasn’t designed as a one-off funding programme.
It was designed as a community development journey.
Each stage built on the previous one. Funding sat in the middle of a much bigger process. Groups received support before they applied, while they delivered their projects and after their funding ended. This meant organisations didn’t simply complete projects – they became stronger organisations.
Pitch and voting day
We had 27 incredible ideas submitted to the Community Sparks Poplar Grant programme, which led to 18 projects pitched by 15 presenters, and the residents deciding which projects got funded.
Click here to watch a short video of the pitch and voting day.
Huge congratulations to the 14 projects funded through Community Sparks Poplar Grant Programme:
- Unlocking Thames Path, Walk & Health talks – East London Seniors Club (22 votes).
- Food Bank – Neighbours in Poplar (19 votes).
- Boules & Men’s pottery therapy sessions – Feldy Fellas (16 votes).
- Mother and Daughter sessions – Sultana Begum (14 votes).
- Healthy eating sessions – Shahjalal Centre (12 votes).
- My Adventure Pages – Active Wellbeing and Arts (10 votes).
- Black History Month Residency – Julie & Sandra (10 votes).
- Cooking classes & healthy eating – Monzo Moni (8 votes).
- Craft and Connect – Active Wellbeing and Arts (8 votes).
- Raised beds – Neighbours in Poplar (8 votes).
- Make noise for a greener Poplar – The Men’s Cabin (7 votes).
- Coffee morning & exercise classes – Monzo Moni (7 votes).
- Women’s exercise classes – Will Crooks TRA (7 votes).
Community Sparks Celebration event
More info coming soon.
Supporting organisations beyond funding
One of the key lessons from Community Sparks was that funding alone often wasn’t enough to meet local groups’ needs. To address this, groups were also offered one-to-one support and group workshops focused on organisational development, covering:
- Governance.
- Constitutions.
- Safeguarding.
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
- Trustees’ roles.
- Monitoring and evaluation.
- Funding for community activities.
- Budgeting.
- Project planning.
For many groups this was their first experience of managing grant funding.
Rather than expecting organisations to already know how to apply, monitor and report, Community Sparks treated the entire process as a learning journey.
Several groups have since:
- Become constituted organisations.
- Incorporated as Community Interest Companies (CICs).
- Secured additional funding.
- Developed new partnerships.
- Accessed free community venues.
- Strengthened their governance.
The programme therefore invested not only in projects, but in the long-term resilience of local organisations.
Community Sparks was developed and delivered by the Development Team at Tower Hamlets CVS.
The programme design, community outreach, participatory grant-making, organisational capacity building and delivery led by Ayaann Yusuf, Development Officer.
The programme was led by Development Manager Sam Crosby.
Videography – Claire Nolan.
Development support funded by – The Charity of Sir Richard Whittington.
Grant funded by – Wakefield and Tetley Trust.