About

We are a 'social justice infrastructure organisation'. This means, in practice, that it's our job to support grassroots groups, community organisers and activists who want to make York a more just, fair, and sustainable place to live.

What we want to see

See

We want York (and the wider world) to prioritise people and the planet over profit.

We want to see all people who live, work and visit the city to be treated in a way that honours that we are all human, and all equal. Despite being a diverse place, there are still those within York's communities who face discrimination and ongoing risk.

A lot needs to happen to make our hopes for the future a reality - including encouraging people to believe that this change is actually possible!

We understand that the changes we want to see may not happen in our lifetimes. We are just one piece of the jigsaw. We are committed to collaborating with individuals and organisations who are doing similar work, and we hope to build on the foundations that have been laid by those that have come before us.

How we operate

Operate

We're really aware of power structures in the city and that, as a result of being a funder, we also hold a certain amount of power. We actively think about how we can resist these structures and not replicate them in our own work by questioning who makes decisions around funding, who sets agendas and who holds sway. Resisting the pressure that's built into capitalism for competition, we instead focus on cooperation and collaboration.

In this kind of work it's important to challenge the unspoken rules that dictate how funding should be done, and we start from what communities actually need, not what funding frameworks say is possible. This standpoint allows us to find new solutions and reimagine what's possible for those who are overlooked and left dealing with the consequences of inequality every day.

Who are we for?

We're for grassroots community groups, local projects, for organisers and activists and for individuals who want to get involved but don't know where to start.

We prioritise groups that:

Have an income of under £20,000.
Are led by people with experiences of the injustices that they are fighting.
Are excluded (whether directly or indirectly) from support and funding from other sources.

We will support your group even if it is unincorporated and does not have its own bank account.

Who we admire

Our work is shaped by the people and organisations that are already out there doing the work and have come before us. These include:

Barking & Dagenham Giving

Camden Giving

Rad HR

Participatory Grant Making Community

For

Admire

Value

What we value...

Inclusivity

We take inclusivity seriously and are dedicated to creating spaces where people feel welcome and safe enough to engage. This means welcoming people of all genders, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, and disabled and neurodiverse people.

Read about the steps we take to make sure that our work is accessible.

We are proudly anti-racist, feminist, and anti-oppressive, and this informs what work we take on, how we operate, and the relationships we form. We are committed to continuously reviewing our policies and culture to reflect these standards.

Collaboration

There are a lot of people in York who are driven to make the city a more just, fair and sustainable place. We believe that we are all better placed to bring about this change if we work together through pooling knowledge and resources and providing collective care.

We therefore purposely design our gatherings to facilitate and strengthen connection and kinship between community organisers, activists and grassroots groups. We also consciously choose to work in collaboration and cooperation with those who share our vision and values, building relationships that move at the speed of trust.

Keeping money local

We will prioritise buying in goods and services from people, non-profits, and local, purpose-led businesses within York before we look outside the city. This means that we build skills, knowledge and capacity in York as well as keeping money circulating in the local economy.

When it comes to our grant funding, we support grassroots groups, individuals and projects that are working towards York being a more just, fair and sustainable city. They must be based and operate in York, thereby keeping the money that York Together distributes through grants within the local community.

Accountability

York Together is serious about fighting injustice and being inclusive. We hold ourselves to a very high standard and think carefully about how the way we behave and what we say might impact other people. If we do cause harm we will be proactive in naming it, apologising and changing.

Where we are bringing people and groups together, we are committed to creating spaces where people feel safe enough to hear and acknowledge when their words or actions have harmed others. We're also there to support others in repairing relationships when harm occurs.

Accessibility

We are committed to keeping all aspects of our work as inclusive as possible, and we always strive to think about all aspects of accessibility when it comes to our gatherings or content.

We will always have BSL interpreters when we hold events and will make sure we're in wheelchair accessible venues. We will also always create Accessibility Guidance Documents for each event we hold, ensuring people can pre-plan their visit and have all the information they need.

There is no perfect day or time to gather people that caters to everyone’s work, caring and access needs, so we are committed to varying when we run events, and will use a variety of locations.

We are also committed to having an 'accessibility fund' to support people to attend events who might not be able to because of the cost of travel, childcare, losing income, needing to use taxis, etc.

We keep our content up-to-date and fully accessible by following standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C. This organisation develops guidelines to help everyone build content based on the principles of accessibility, internationalisation, privacy and security.

Want more information?

You can email us to talk about how to make your content more accessible, or you can browse these links to find out more.

Quick and easy - Read notes on how to remain accessible online.

A little more in-depth - Read the W3C standards and guidelines.