About us

What Finsbury Park Trust is all about

Finsbury Park Trust promotes urban regeneration in areas of social and economic deprivation, and in particular in the  Finsbury Park area of North London, to develop the capacity and skills of members of the community, who are socially and economically disadvantaged, so that they are better able to identify and help meet their needs and participate more fully in society.

Located on the corner of three boroughs – Islington, Haringey and Hackney – we work in partnership with community groups, local residents, funders and the three councils to relieve financial hardship through providing information, advice, training, educational healthcare projects and other support directed towards alleviating social conditions that result from poverty. We offer low-cost office space so that small charities can offer support and advocacy services to the local community. We hire out our two meeting rooms community activities and workshops.

Our vision

Our vision is to improve wellbeing and reduce disadvantage for all people in the Finsbury Park area of North London. As part of this, we aim to celebrate diverse cultures, build meaningful connections between people, and foster mutual understanding.

Our mission

Our mission is to tackle the causes of deprivation and social isolation, support community cohesion and promote understanding, by delivering a community-focussed programme of information, wellbeing and learning activities.

Our values

• We believe that anyone, from whatever background, has something to contribute to our community.
• We champion fairness and equality of opportunity, respect diversity, and enable marginalised voices to be heard and valued.
• We build partnerships to increase knowledge and expertise and improve collaboration and reach.
• We empower individuals and groups to build resilience, improve wellbeing and drive their own positive change.

We welcome volunteers to help us carry out our work and be involved in our community.

How we achieve this

Building on our success in opening up the centre to the community we have continued to put on a range of activities aimed at providing an opportunity for all members of our local community to meet together and find points of connection. All of our events and activities are based around sharing food and sharing experiences to help alleviate the social conditions which result from disadvantage. Food has proved to be a useful means of drawing people in from all walks of life and we have promoted a ‘world kitchen’ theme encouraging a team of cooks from across the world to provide tasty and nutritious fare.

Our space is open to everyone regardless of background, status, religion or gender. We have worked hard to create a ‘safe space’ for anyone who wants gentle social interactions with like-minded people. We work closely in partnership with Islington Somali Community, Jannaty Women’s Social Society, Go Africa and the Network of Finsbury Park Women’s Groups to reach new participants.

Finsbury Park Trust is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee. We are managed by a Board of Trustees. We have a very small staff team consisting of a part-time Chief Executive and freelance events and facilities staff.

Trustees

The Finsbury Park Trust is a registered charity number 1105638 and a company limited by guarantee number 04599482. It has a Board of Trustees taken from the local community, with representatives from the councils and residents of the three local boroughs (Hackney, Haringey and Islington). The Board meets four or five times a year and holds an AGM. In between, the Executive Board meets with the Chief Executive  Felicity Ford (who is also the Company Secretary) on a regular basis for operational and strategic decisions. All trustees are directors of the Charitable Company for the purposes of the Companies Act.

We occasionally look for additional trustees to enhance our Board. If you are interested please read our person specification and get in touch.

The Board of Trustees

• Polly Robbins – Chair
• Alex Worrell – Vice-chair
• Anthonia Onigbode – Treasurer
• Liz Hemmings – Hackney resident
• Lawrence Singha – Haringey resident
• Cllr Soraya Adejare – Hackney Council representative
• Stephanie Downes – Islington resident
• Amal El Hage Sleiman – Business representative
• Amer Chaudhry – Business representative

Our History

Our independent charity is located in a busy part of North London right on the edge of three Boroughs. In April 1999 Islington, Hackney and Haringey came together to make an application to the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) for funding to regenerate the area. The SRB application was successful, the Finsbury Park Partnership was formed and work on delivering the SRB objectives began.

Finsbury Park Trust was set up in 2002 to take on the work of the Finsbury Park Partnership, which managed the seven-year regeneration programme for the local neighbourhood. The community-led regeneration of Finsbury Park established a diverse yet united and sustainable neighbourhood, one in which individuals and families and businesses have the skills and confidence to achieve their full potential, supported by joined-up local governance.

Originally envisaged as a tri-borough regeneration agency the charity now continues to promote improvements in the quality of life for everyone who lives or works in Finsbury Park. We work in partnership with other organisations and the local councils so that we can effect greater change and support vulnerable local people.