The Pathway from Project to Organisation
Last year, we commissioned a storyteller to work with 10 Pathways Fund partners to produce content for the sector in their own words. Part of this content is a four-part thematic essay series for the sector, capturing the key themes that came up from partners.
When Blagrave was introduced to the Pathways Fund grant partners, they were already addressing their issues and working within their communities. They had a vision, momentum, and deep-rooted community trust. But few had formal infrastructure, or what they described as “legitimacy.” No payroll systems. No safeguarding policies. No official email addresses. Many didn’t even consider themselves proper “organisations,” but more as projects.
“When we first started, we weren’t running frequent programs, but now we’ve been able to focus on our delivery work without the heavy research element. We’re reflecting on our own experiences of the justice system and asking how we can directly do more for those in prison.” — Nadine, Young Justice Advisors
That began to change for Young Justice Advisors and others in the cohort due to the investment and support they received from the Pathways Fund. Multi-year core grants of £60–90k over three years gave these youth-led collectives time and encouragement to pause, reflect, and define what organisational sustainability and growth could actually look like for them.
“The Pathways Fund meant we had some consistency, some grounding. For me, growing as an organisation means having funders who want to support us and stick with us.” — Isabelle, Care Experienced Movement
Other partners, like Avocados Impact, used the funding to settle into a physical space. “Securing the Pathways Fund meant we could move into our own space in Exeter — much more central and accessible. That made a huge difference. More young people could reach us, and we could host meetings with professionals and partners in a proper space of our own.”
For Not A Trend, early funding meant finally being able to hire paid staff.
“I started this when I was 15, and now to be paid for the work, to have two additional team members, and to be entrusted with £60,000 of funding overall — it’s kind of crazy.” — Ava, Not A Trend
For Choked Up, funding meant being able to continue their work without sacrificing education or financial stability.
“Before receiving any grants, we were essentially just working for free, which comes with a lot of implications, especially when you’ve also got commitments like education or jobs to juggle. The grants made our work so much more accessible. We could actually do it alongside our degrees.” — Beau, Choked Up
Crucially, the Pathways Fund allowed groups to slow down without feeling like they were falling behind. Blagrave recognises that external activity dips in the first 6–18 months on the programme as groups “strengthen their internal organisation,” and sees this as a natural part of the development of an organisation. That sentiment was echoed in the interviews with the Pathways Fund grant partners.
For Our Streets Now, the Pathways Fund marked their transition into a CIC, complete with a board, structure, and strategic direction.
“In that first year, growth was really about getting more established — building up our resources and structure so we could manage the operational and governance side of being an organisation with confidence. That’s had a big impact, especially when it comes to contract delivery, like being able to work with local authorities. But really, it helped across everything.” — Issy, Our Streets Now
Many partners spoke about the clarity that came with more financial stability. With space to reflect, several redefined what structure and growth for their organisation meant in reality.
For Halo Collective, the security of the Pathways Fund core grant meant aligning their internal ways of working and structure to how they were being perceived externally.
“The funding helped us to move from what used to be perfect chaos into something more structured. People from the outside often tell us how strong our campaign is, but internally, we were often just trying to keep it together. That structure and accountability have been essential.” — Olamide, Halo
For Radical Body Arts, that meant scaling back and being more singular in their approach.
“At first, we were focused on getting into rooms and pitching performances to other organisations. But over time, we realised how difficult it was to safeguard both the artists and ourselves, given all the access barriers still in place. So, we brought in two wonderful team members and started creating our own accessible arts opportunities. We moved from chasing the big gigs to building smaller ones that felt safer and gave us the space to support the artists we work with properly.” — Elle, Radical Body Arts
One tool that supported this internal evolution was the Organisational Development Budget, a quieter element of the programme but one that proved transformative for many. While core funding enabled teams to hire or stabilise their operations, the Organisational Development Budget helped them think deeper about how their groups should function in the long run, and gave them the space and access to expertise to act on that.
For Motivez, it meant addressing issues that had previously slowed down their growth.
“Through the Organisational Development Budget, we’ve been able to access some external expertise, especially around operations, which is my area. We had a consultant working with us for about six or seven months, helping us implement a few key processes and systems, particularly to fix our old chaos. That support has helped us get into a much better place, actually, to achieve the goals we set out to achieve.” — Treasure, Motivez
Not A Trend used the Organisational Development Budget to sharpen their strategy and focus not just on what they were delivering, but also on how and why.
“I keep coming back to strategy, but I didn’t realise how important it was until we had the support to actually focus on it. Thanks to the Organisational Development Budget, we’ve been able to work with a contractor who’s supported us from the start, allowing us to have a crucial strategy day with her. It also means we can do another one this year, this time focusing on outreach. That kind of continuity and capacity-building has been a big deal for us.” — Ava, Not A Trend
For The Care Experienced Movement, it enabled access to critical training that otherwise wouldn’t have been affordable.
“With the Organisational Development Budget, it’s been amazing to actually identify where we need support and then go to Blagrave and say, ‘I’d love to do some DSL [Designated Safeguarding Lead] training’ — and they just said, ‘Yes, this fund can cover that.’ We didn’t have to dip into our core grant or stress about where to find the money. That kind of support is rare — no other funders I know of do that. It shows that Blagrave really understands what the sector needs.” — Isabelle, Care Experienced Movement
Several partners said that simply having dedicated budgets for both development and well-being validated the time and energy required to build behind the scenes — the often-invisible work that makes visible impact possible.
“The Organisational Development Budget and Wellbeing Grant were great because they nudged us to invest in areas we might have otherwise overlooked. Blagrave’s Youth Led Change Manager’s advice on giving recommendations and linking us into organisations who can support us was also really helpful.” — Our Streets Now
This level of trust and support from Blagrave, allowing grant partners to grow sideways, creatively, or slowly, felt rare to the Pathways Fund grant partners compared to their other experiences with the funding world. It was mentioned time and again by grant partners as something that not only helped them internally but also reflected in the impact they’re making externally.
Sometimes that impact is sector-shaping, like Radical Body Arts’ research into how people with disabilities can interact with the arts.
“The research we’ve done recently has also uncovered statistics about disability that we’ve never seen anywhere else. Thanks to the support we’ve had, we’ve been able to really dig into what is a very tricky landscape — and explore what actually makes working in the arts truly accessible and considerate.” — Elle, Radical Body Arts
Sometimes that impact is about shifting attitudes and behaviours, such as the work Our Streets Now delivers in schools. “I’m always surprised by how new our information is to the people we train — and how surprised they are by it. I did an interview with an Assistant Head Teacher we’ve worked with for about two years, and she told me that what really changed after our training was that the staff’s whole perspective had shifted.
The line of what’s considered normal or acceptable behaviour had moved. There used to be a real hesitancy to label things as misogyny or sexual harassment — but now there’s far more willingness to call it what it is.” — Issy, Our Streets Now
And sometimes, that impact was about how the grant partners felt about themselves and their growth as campaigners.
“I think because there’s so much investment in us as people, as well as in our campaign, it’s really made me think more about my own personal growth, and how the campaign affects that, and how campaigning has helped me grow as an individual.” — Anjali, Choked Up
“I think being able to come out as not necessarily more serious campaigners, but campaigners who feel like we know what we’re doing, in a way that feels a lot more secure, that’s something I’ve definitely noticed since being on the programme.” — Beau, Choked Up
What was clear across all the interviews was that growth didn’t follow a single path. It depended on where each group started, what they were navigating outside the work, and how much space they had to find their own rhythm. Some needed time to scale. Others needed time to stop. But all needed the chance to mature on their own terms. By offering flexible, multi-year support, and trusting in the partners, the Pathways Fund has supported partners to build foundations for change.
