London pay-it-forward schemes, where people can donate into a communal pot so others can claim the cost of a coffee or a book without explanation, are quietly operating across the capital. But while the idea is straightforward, the emotional reality for people using them is anything but.
Against a backdrop in which one in four workers has run out of money before payday, according to a survey by HR software company Ciphr, schemes like these have taken on a growing relevance. The same survey found that one in five people has struggled to pay bills or buy food.
How London pay-it-forward schemes work in practice
Host Cafe, inside St Mary Aldermary church in the City of London, runs one such scheme. Cafe manager Barbara Gornicka says there are few set rules: anyone who feels they need the cost of their drink covered that day is welcome to use it. To avoid the awkwardness of asking at a busy counter, people can instead pick up one of the small polymer clay hearts displayed on the drinks board and hand it over quietly.
‘This is to keep people from maybe being embarrassed, especially if there’s a larger queue. Not everyone can just outright say: “Can I have a free drink?”‘ Gornicka explained.
One regular at the cafe is Paul Atherton, a filmmaker, author, and social campaigner who has been dealing with homelessness for 17 years and was awarded the Freedom of the City of London earlier this year. After accounting for £160 a month in storage costs, Atherton says he lives on £4 a day. ‘If these things didn’t exist, you’d be outside of society. A cup of coffee on my current benefits is more than what I get on my daily allowance,’ he said. He called schemes like this ‘life-changing’, adding: ‘I wouldn’t have survived in this city if I didn’t have the ability to sit, use Wi-Fi, and grab a coffee and feel like a part of society.’
Prof Joan Costa-i-Font, an economist at the London School of Economics, is more measured in his assessment. ‘It’s better than no coffee,’ he said. ‘But it’s not really solving the structural problem. It’s a sign of kindness. I would say all these are signals of kindness.’ He described the schemes as ‘a drop in the ocean’.
South of the river: books, vouchers and the guilt of using a community fund
A similar scheme is running at Lala Books, an independent bookshop in Camberwell. Owner Danielle Moylan says their fund can be used to cover the full or partial cost of a book or a magazine. The scheme has proved especially popular with younger people feeling the pressure of rising rents and the wider cost of living. But hesitation is common.
‘”I feel bad”, a lot of people say that, or you can tell they don’t think it’s for them. Or they might not be in quotes poor enough to use it or disadvantaged enough,’ Moylan said. Her response is that the scheme exists for anyone who feels they don’t have quite enough to pay for a new book. ‘It’s just there for you to feel comfortable enough to take a book home with you,’ she explained.
To make that easier, Lala Books has added a discreet option: a box at the back of the shop holds envelopes containing gift vouchers that anyone can take. Moylan says they look identical to regular gift vouchers. ‘We wouldn’t know the difference,’ she said. Asked whether the no-questions-asked approach might be open to misuse, Moylan was unequivocal: ‘That’s just something you have to accept as part of a community fund.’
The scheme has produced some unexpected outcomes. One customer used it to buy a birthday present for a friend. In another case, a local parent, Gillian Lewis, spotted the scheme and used it to supply 30 books to a nearby primary school. ‘There’s something nice about the idea that people in Camberwell and Southwark are giving money that then is going to buy books for kids who live around the corner,’ Lewis said.
The Ciphr survey data adds further context to why schemes like these resonate. 31% of 18-24 year olds surveyed had asked to receive wages early via a salary advance or income streaming service, compared with just 3% of those aged over 45, underlining how acutely younger people are feeling the financial strain that Moylan sees reflected in her shop every week.
Gornicka says her ambition is for the Host Cafe scheme to grow beyond those in the most acute need. ‘My goal eventually for the scheme is not to only exist for people who absolutely cannot afford a coffee, but for people to feel secure in that they can use it, even if they definitely could afford a beverage,’ she said. Moylan echoes that openness: customers who used the Lala Books fund one week have returned months later to donate into it themselves.
