Local Trust
Natasha Almond is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in community development and social enterprise. Currently serving as Area Coordinator at Local Trust and as an Outside Influencer at Outside Influence, Natasha focuses on supporting resident-led initiatives and driving change through engagement and creative systems thinking. As a co-founder and researcher at Good Organisation, Natasha addresses economic disparities in tourism for disadvantaged communities and is actively engaged in research with York St John University. With a strong background in facilitation, partnership development, and capacity building within the voluntary and community sector, Natasha has held leadership roles across various organizations, including the City of York Council and North Yorkshire Police, demonstrating a consistent commitment to social impact and community well-being. Educational credentials include a Master's degree in Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management and a BA in Youth and Community Social Policy.
Local Trust
Local Trust was established to deliver Big Local, a unique initiative that puts residents across the country in control of decisions about their own lives and neighbourhoods. Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, it provides in excess of £1m of long-term funding over 10-15 years to 150 local communities that have historically missed out on lottery and other funding. Big Local is generating new and important learning and insight around the potential and limits of localism; the challenges of long term, place-based funding; and the limitless potential of local people to transform their own futures. We’ve just launched our first ever arts programme, Creative Civic Change, a joint initiative with the Big Lottery Fund and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch) which will enable communities to transform themselves through arts and creativity. Our research project, The Future for Communities, shares findings from an 18-month research project asking ‘What needs to happen for communities to feel and be more powerful in the future?'.