Glossary of terms
We know the funding sector can be full of jargon, and words or phrases can mean different things to different people. Below we’ve explained some of the terms we use most regularly throughout our guidance. If there’s something you think is missing, let us know.
Core funding or core costs
Propel long-term grants have been designed to provide flexible funding for organisations for up to seven years. Funding can be spent across both core and programme funding.
Core funding to help cover an organisation’s core costs, sometimes referred to as operating costs or overheads.
Core costs typically describe an organisation’s routine running costs, such as governance, staff salaries and development, budgeting and accounting, communications and IT costs, administration and human resources, rent, insurance, heating and power.
Equity
Equity is different to equality. Propel focuses on equity, and acknowledges that everyone (and every community) operates within different circumstances and recognises that different support is needed to reach an equal outcome.
Equity refers to fairness and justice in the way resources, opportunities, and responsibilities are distributed among people. It’s about ensuring that everyone has what they need to thrive and succeed, regardless of their background, identity, or circumstances. Equity involves addressing and rectifying systemic injustices to create a more level playing field for all individuals.
“Equitable” is one of the Propel principles, and refers to unlearning old ways of working, biases, and lenses on the world, ensuring that design, process and decision-making are inclusive and take account of the diversity of the sector and of communities
Equity Partners
Propel prioritises the communities who experience structural inequality and the civil society groups who are best placed to make change happen, supporting them to develop and lead collaborative approaches that tackle some of London’s biggest issues. To enable Propel to do this, we proactively seek and support the engagement of equity infrastructure organisations. Equity partners engage with Propel at all levels, including:
- Deepening our shared understanding of the Propel principles
- Co-designing processes
- Co-assessing applications and participating in decision making
- Participating in ongoing learning about how systemic change happens.
Led by and for
A led by and for organisation is led and run by the communities it serves and/or the people who use its support services. Most likely, it was set up with the intention of supporting these communities. From its outset, Propel has sought to prioritise these organisations for funding, as they’ve been historically underrepresented and deprioritised by the funding sector.
Led by and for organisations may also be referred to as user-led, equity-led or having lived experience leadership.
On advice from our equity partners, Propel’s definition of a by and for organisation requires 75% of the Board of Trustees or Management Committee AND at least 50% of senior staff self-identifying as from a specific marginalised community or protected characteristic.
Systems Change
Systems change means understanding and tackling the root causes of issues facing our capital, not just dealing with their consequences. It’s about addressing the inbuilt inequalities which privilege some groups in society and disadvantage others, rather than just the symptoms.
An example of systems change would be enabling organisations to identify the root causes of issues such as poverty, and to create strategies, including advocacy, to change the societal structures which keep the most marginalised communities in poverty.
There is no “one size fits all” approach, there’s many ways we can think about systems change, and you can find our pool of resources here.