“Build community. Come together in unity and the magic happens.” Toby Gorniak MBE at Fundraising on the Margins

Today I attended the excellent conference Fundraising on the Margins, organised by South West Fundraisers Forum. Here are my notes from the inspirational keynote speaker, Toby Gorniak.

• I am a Romany gypsy born in Poland, speak 5 languages
• Came to England in 2001 to start a better life, escaping racism
• Met people who showed “kindness, respect, helped me become the person I am, including at school
• Started with dance: hip hop, breaking – learned about sharing – in hiphop we say “teach to teach” – the ripple effect
• Started company Street Factory with my wife
• Started teaching in my local church – a dance space
• 50 people turned up by the 3^rd session, then 100 people every week, any age to come have fun and dance
• Started own crew, needed bigger space, took on a huge space, we paid for everything, realised a lot of kids were only coming to the free sessions, so started sponsoring some of the kids to attend
• A space to be, grow, belong
• 18 years on from starting the company… we performed in Plymouth, London, Scotland, all over. One of our dancers won a BBC young dancer show and is now touring
• People can live their dreams – drives me
• I learned about funding – how to “be like water” when you don’t get funding – adjust, navigate – think how else can I make funds come in to support this project
• Sometimes I had to go out and do another job to support the work
• Learned how to become more sustainable – received three year funding – did incredible things with it.
• “Think about what I did with no money. Imagine what I could do with money!”
• How do we become more sustainable? Look at good businesses and how they run. Up to us the people to get together to create something to support our communities, our people
• “Put the people in the position that love their stuff… the people who love it should be doing it.” Putting the people in who know what they’re doing can cut your time in half!
• Let the people who love the accounting do the accounting!
• Little me – blown away to have received a message from the Queen
• You don’t know who people know – community means coming together as one – communicate to everybody what you’re trying to achieve
• Tell everybody. Because you don’t know who people know.
• A little bit of kindness can create something beautiful, but only happens because part of a community
• Build community. Come together in unity and the magic happens.
• We are the little wheels when a child learns how to ride a bike
• “Don’t ask. Don’t get” You have to go and ask. You have to tell people.
• I cannot read your mind. I don’t know what you need. You have to tell me. Please speak.
• Everybody has kindness. Sometimes they need help to bring it out.
• “Never judge until you walk a mile in somebody else’s shoes”
• Kindness feels natural and special to me. I needed kindness when I was younger, and I didn’t have a lot of it. That’s why I think it’s so important.
• Honesty is the greatest policy. Be honest about everything! Tell the truth because then I get to eat the nice stuff!
• These are my five principles: Respect, Peace, Love, Unity, Having Fun. Take it and make it your own – add to it.