Looking back at 2022
On the morning of the 9th November 2022, a group of thirty or so inspirational people – and a few members of the Lightbulb team too! – spiralled up the sleek stairway of the Design Museum for a photo-call.
The snapshot marked the end of a humbling morning for Lightbulb: that of our annual get-together. This year, it took place right in the heart of West London, inside an awe-inspiring venue (the museum’s Creative Workshop, to be precise). The Design Museum is somewhere to which we feel very close – not least geographically, as it is bang in the centre of the community within which we do so much work.
The event is always a highlight of our year. We love seeing so many friendly-faces and like-minds in person. It is a very precious coming-together, a gathering of the brightest sparks, all powered by a common cause: to make a difference by changing lives for the better.
We reiterated that morning – and do so again here – how very honoured we are at Lightbulb to help empower those initiatives. We love supporting our partners’ brilliant endeavours in whatever ways we can (financial and via our networks), and so bringing such brilliant change-makers together for a forum in which they can exchange notes and ideas is very special indeed.
Tim Marlow, Director of The Design Museum, spoke inspiringly that day about the way the museum works within the community – including via the Growing Together Garden project, on which Lightbulb has partnered. Tim explained how design informs every aspect of our lives.
Design had been on our minds in November. We had just put the finishing touches to our Theory of Change graphic. Working with expert Jami Dixon on this articulation of our ethos was another highlight of 2022. The process was instructive, inspiring and – as you might hope with Lightbulb – illuminating too. The abiding goal for Lightbulb’s work – we decided – is to fashion as best we can ‘more opportunities for marginalised communities, resulting in increased life-chances and reduced inequality’.
We would, later during December, follow-up by introducing Jami to various partners via an online workshop. She is a brilliant new ally and one with whom we hope to work closely together into the future.
As well as celebrating the work of our partners, our annual breakfast – coming as it does toward the end of each year – also prompts us to review our own work during the preceding months:
How the Greenlight Project goes from strength to strength, supporting marginalised communities through the arts.
How our Integration Challenge forges bold new connections via dream-team partnerships: this year, including between West London Zone and Nova; Football Beyond Borders and The Design Museum; Steppaz and Curious School of Puppetry.
How our alliance with the formidable team at Analysis Group has paid yet more dividends by enhancing partners’ methodologies, enabling them to chart their impact with greater accuracy.
It also prompts a stock-take of our own ongoing impact:
Since our inception in 2019, Lightbulb has made 47 grants and 5 impact investments…
To the tune of £1,300,000…
Working with 44 different organisations…
With the cost-of-living crisis severely impacting vulnerable and underserved populations across the UK, we made our grants more flexible and doubled down on the pro bono support provided to our non-profit partners to help amplify their impact.
During the last financial year (2020/21), our partners impacted tens of thousands of people. We hesitate to put a precise figure on this, as that impact varied from light-touch to deeper interventions, from grass-roots community projects to more disruptive ed-tech enterprises.
We at Lightbulb continue to bask in the reflected luminosity of our partners’ achievements. We are truly humbled by that common cause – to make a change. We remain resolved, as another year dawns, to keep doing all we can to help.
Salome & Ben Holden
Trustees & Co-founders, The Lightbulb Trust
Looking back at 2022
On the morning of the 9th November 2022, a group of thirty or so inspirational people – and a few members of the Lightbulb team too! – spiralled up the sleek stairway of the Design Museum for a photo-call.
The snapshot marked the end of a humbling morning for Lightbulb: that of our annual get-together. This year, it took place right in the heart of West London, inside an awe-inspiring venue (the museum’s Creative Workshop, to be precise). The Design Museum is somewhere to which we feel very close – not least geographically, as it is bang in the centre of the community within which we do so much work.
The event is always a highlight of our year. We love seeing so many friendly-faces and like-minds in person. It is a very precious coming-together, a gathering of the brightest sparks, all powered by a common cause: to make a difference by changing lives for the better.
We reiterated that morning – and do so again here – how very honoured we are at Lightbulb to help empower those initiatives. We love supporting our partners’ brilliant endeavours in whatever ways we can (financial and via our networks), and so bringing such brilliant change-makers together for a forum in which they can exchange notes and ideas is very special indeed.
Tim Marlow, Director of The Design Museum, spoke inspiringly that day about the way the museum works within the community – including via the Growing Together Garden project, on which Lightbulb has partnered. Tim explained how design informs every aspect of our lives.
Design had been on our minds in November. We had just put the finishing touches to our Theory of Change graphic. Working with expert Jami Dixon on this articulation of our ethos was another highlight of 2022. The process was instructive, inspiring and – as you might hope with Lightbulb – illuminating too. The abiding goal for Lightbulb’s work – we decided – is to fashion as best we can ‘more opportunities for marginalised communities, resulting in increased life-chances and reduced inequality’.
We would, later during December, follow-up by introducing Jami to various partners via an online workshop. She is a brilliant new ally and one with whom we hope to work closely together into the future.
As well as celebrating the work of our partners, our annual breakfast – coming as it does toward the end of each year – also prompts us to review our own work during the preceding months:
How the Greenlight Project goes from strength to strength, supporting marginalised communities through the arts.
How our Integration Challenge forges bold new connections via dream-team partnerships: this year, including between West London Zone and Nova; Football Beyond Borders and The Design Museum; Steppaz and Curious School of Puppetry.
How our alliance with the formidable team at Analysis Group has paid yet more dividends by enhancing partners’ methodologies, enabling them to chart their impact with greater accuracy.
It also prompts a stock-take of our own ongoing impact:
Since our inception in 2019, Lightbulb has made 47 grants and 5 impact investments…
To the tune of £1,300,000…
Working with 44 different organisations…
With the cost-of-living crisis severely impacting vulnerable and underserved populations across the UK, we made our grants more flexible and doubled down on the pro bono support provided to our non-profit partners to help amplify their impact.
During the last financial year (2020/21), our partners impacted tens of thousands of people. We hesitate to put a precise figure on this, as that impact varied from light-touch to deeper interventions, from grass-roots community projects to more disruptive ed-tech enterprises.
We at Lightbulb continue to bask in the reflected luminosity of our partners’ achievements. We are truly humbled by that common cause – to make a change. We remain resolved, as another year dawns, to keep doing all we can to help.
Salome & Ben Holden
Trustees & Co-founders, The Lightbulb Trust
Latest News
We had feedback from amazing partner organisations doing great things that they often struggle to capture learning and showcase their
Salary: £160 per day (£20 hourly rate) Hours: 2-3 days per month (flexible hours, with the possibility of increasing the number
The Integration Challenge – West London Zone and Earls Court Youth Club In summer term 2023, through the support of
The photographs on the easels are striking: a girl reaches beguilingly out to the lens, pulling you in with her
