Aim

To build Tooting’s resilience through workshops, mapping and webinars so together, we're better connected & ready for anything!

Who are we, and what is our project about?

Resilience Tooting is bringing together community groups across Tooting, including Balham and Tooting Community Association, Transition Town Tooting, Tooting Community Kitchen and many more - alongside connection to the Emergency Planning Team at Wandsworth Borough Council. We are rooted in the intersection of the climate crisis and the cost of living crisis and its effect on how we live, where we live. After a summer of five heatwaves it is never more urgent to develop how we, as communities, act as the first responders in the moment of crisis through stronger connections, improved knowledge and practiced experience of collaboration to prevent, prepare and adapt to a changing climate.

What is the context? 

The UK faces unprecedented and escalating climate risks, 8 million properties face flooding risks and food security is under threat as extreme weather reduces yields.  Price shocks, food shortages (see DEFRA 2024 Food Resilience Report) and a destabilised economy are the new normal (National Emergency Briefing). The UK is "woefully underprepared" for climate impacts already locked in (Climate Change Committee's 2024) and AXA's 2024 Climate Risk Index identified London as at particular risk of both extreme heat and flooding.  All of these impacts have the potential to add to existing challenges and cause major disruption at a local level to our community in Tooting.

Why we need a community level response?

Where our activity sits

In building resilience and in responding to risk and crises there is a need for response at every level, national, borough, local, hyperlocal and individual.  We know from personal experience that when disruptions hit Tooting, our communities are quick to respond – and research shows that when emergencies hit, the most connected communities respond best to disruptions and recover fastest afterwards. So our activity will primarily be focused at local and hyperlocal level here in Tooting but working and connecting with other levels of response. 

We began as a collaborative conversation bringing together an initial cross-section of local groups and organisations including BATCA, Transition Town Tooting, XR Wandsworth, Greener Jobs Alliance, Tooting Community Kitchen, St George’s Hospital and more alongside connection to the Emergency Planning Team at Wandsworth Borough Council. Over the past year, we have established a core group , hosted a first awareness raising community workshop on heat preparedness and established initial communications channels to share alerts and information

What does Resilience mean to you?

Resilience means many things to many people but fundamentally it is about connection and relationship to come together in times of crisis and support each other. Tooting is already well connected, but we can do so much more to prevent, prepare and adapt to future shocks due to the climate crisis and have a lot of fun celebrating our creativity and diversity along the way.

How does this build on current work?

Since 2008 Transition Town Tooting has worked in our local community with a focus on how we live, where we live in light of the climate crisis. We run a wide range of community projects including practical projects such as community gardening and repair alongside public events such as the Tour de Tooting, Tooting Twirl and most recently Town Anywhere which brought together around 100 members of the local community to imagine a different future for our locality.  Resilience Tooting has a natural home with Balham and Tooting Community Association, BATCA. BATCA is well regarded in Tooting for hosting anchor events in the community calendar: BATCA Funday, a day long street party which brings the community together for Summer sharing and the Community Heroes Awards - an annual dinner to recognise the people and groups who work so hard for our local community and an annual Peace Ceremony outside Tooting Broadway tube station. BATCA’s place as a connector between community members and groups is a perfect place to further those relationships and knowledge of each other so we hold each other steady in trying times. 

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are crowdfunding to fundamentally resource this work which has currently been supported on a voluntary basis. We would dearly love to serve our community by:

• Run a series of in-person workshops on essential and urgent issues such as Heat preparedness, energy security, food security and flooding.
• Complete our initial mapping of resources, people and groups critical to our collective resilience and build connections to and between them.
• Run two Wandsworth-wide webinars to share our approach and our learning to other emerging community led groups in the borough.

How we’ll spend the money raised

Here’s the breakdown by activity:

Mapping Project: £1000

Costs include: Research and engagement events, Researcher costs, online platform costs

3 In-person Workshops: £2000

Costs include: Venue hire, Facilitation, Communications, refreshments, guest speakers

2 Cross-Wandsworth Webinars: £1000

Costs include: Facilitation, Communications, event design and follow ups

Project Management: £1000

Costs include: Overall Crowdfunder management, reporting and donor relationships as well as project coordination.

Communications: £1000

Costs include: Building the Resilience Tooting brand, website presence, and strategic outreach across all project strands

Total: £6000

Crowdfunding breakdown:

Crowdfunding Target: £2000

Match funding from Aviva Foundation: £2000 as match to crowdfunding

Match Funding from the GLA: £2000

How you can help

There are three simple ways to get involved and support our project:

1. Make a donation

Every pledge gets us closer to our goal. Early support can help build momentum and inspire others to give too. For every £1 donated, the GLA will match up to the first £2000 and Aviva will match every £1. Meaning your money is doubled if not tripled for Tooting. And the more we raise, the more activity we’ll be able to do! 

2. Spread the word

Share our project with friends, family and your wider network. The more people we reach, the more likely we are to succeed.

3. How to get involved

If you or a group or organisation that you are part of would like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch through the ‘Contact’ section using the subject "I’d love to get involved" on our project page.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 22nd November 2026 at 12:10pm