Pivoting with the Mayor of London

We’ve been suspiciously quiet for a while now, but after months of hard work and careful preparation, TAP London is back in business - and we’re excited to tell you all about our latest fundraising campaign!

For those of you who don’t know us: a quick recap.

Earlier this year, TAP co-founders Katie and Polly closed the doors of its vendor programme. This was an innovative scheme which enabled homeless individuals to work as community fundraisers and earn an income by selling art cards designed by local artists. Of each £3 taken through contactless technology, £2 went to providing our team with the London Living Wage, and £1 was collected into a community fund, granted to a local charity tackling homelessness.

A few of our TAP vendors out in Bloomsbury.

All payments were taken through contactless technology, with each vendor carrying their own unit. The scheme gave homeless people a chance to tell their stories and connect with members of the public whilst feeling proud to be part of something new that was met with excitement by the public. By granting money to charities helping the homeless, we were aiming to give our vendors the chance to give back to the services they used, but also to ensure that they didn’t feel like they were begging. The team could feel pride when we made a grant to a local charity; they had created that pot of funds themselves.

Some lovely feedback from the vendor programme.

After struggling to scale the team, we closed the scheme in March, having provided over 400 hours of paid employment and raised thousands for charity.

One of the key things that emerged from the vendor programme is that contactless works. The public love it. It’s safe, it taps into our giving behaviours and with fewer of us carrying cash than ever before it’s absolutely essential we continue to encourage new ways of giving. The other thing that was compounded is that there are loads of utterly brilliant charities in London, but, constrained in the double-bind of increased demand and decreased funding they are struggling to be seen.

So how could we take the learnings from our vendor programme, and create something even better?

Something sustainable and something impactful. Something which appeals to Londoners and something which makes a difference to our most vulnerable.

Luckily we came up with something.

Even better, the Mayor of London believed in what we came up with.

This winter TAP London is partnering with the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority to set-up 100 unattended contactless points across the city, allowing people to donate £3 to homelessness charities. As of this week, they will be live in Westfield, Curzon Cinemas, WeWork, and The Gentlemen Baristas, to name a few.

How will donations help the homeless?

100% of all donations will go to the London Homeless Charities Group, a coalition of 22 charities, with decades of experience in providing safety, warmth, sustenance and support to homeless people.

The diverse work of these charities means that one TAP could contribute to providing some decent clothes for a person coming in off the streets, while another might help to fund someone gain the skills or qualifications they need to rebuild their life. We hope that TAP will provide these amazing local charities with the donations they need to support their crucial services for London’s most vulnerable people.

We officially go live on Wednesday 28th November alongside Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. Stay tuned!

P.S. If you want to understand more about the vendor programme, check out the video below.