In the first episode of the NSUN podcast, Mark Brown talks to Ruairi White (Project Manager at NSUN) and Emma Ormerod (NSUN Associate) about what we learnt from running the Side By Side Fund for grassroots community groups.

The Side by Side Fund awarded small grants of up to £500 to peer support, mutual aid or self-help groups that benefit people/communities who live with mental ill-health, trauma and distress to connect remotely, prepare to move their activities to face-to-face, or make their group more sustainable.

We talk about the barriers small, grassroots organisations encounter while trying to get funding for their core activities, moving away from power dynamics in funding towards more participatory grant-making and genuine representation of lived experience, and the value of making funding application processes as straightforward as possible.

More information about the Side By Side Fund:

The grant was aimed groups that were in some way led by members of the community they engage. We defined peer support as the intentional action of bringing people together who have experiences in common, to offer mutual support. Not all groups that fit this bill define themselves as ‘mental health groups’. We are interested in groups who recognise that coming together supports wellbeing, healing or connection, and other things we associate with our mental health.

Find out more and view our Grantee Profiles here: https://www.nsun.org.uk/projects/our-grants/side-by-side-fund-grantee-profiles/ 

The grant was made available through Mind’s Side by Side: Peer Support in your community project, which was funded by Morrisons Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation.

Funding user-led groups: learning from the Side By Side Fund

Please follow the link below to our Spotify or MixCloud pages for episodes released in 2022 and beyond.

NSUN is a network of people and groups living in England who have and do experience mental distress and want to change things for the better. By connecting our members, and amplifying their experiences and aspirations, we influence policy, practice and perception, in order to reduce disadvantage and discrimination and stop people being ignored and isolated.