Friends of the Joiners Arms

Help us open the UK's first community-run queer venue in London

About Our Campaign

Our Crowdfunder finished with over £125,000 raised. Thank you to all our investors!

Our Vision

We are Friends of the Joiners Arms. And we are here to recruit you!
We are a Community Benefit Society, which means we will invest any profits back into our queer space for the benefit of the community. No one will become richer at our expense!
We demand a space to be supported, we demand a space to be celebrated, we demand a right to the city.
Why should you become a member?

Because there are no community-run queer spaces in London! And because being a member means you have control over what you want this space to be. We can’t do this without you!
What is a community share?

When you buy a share, you become a member.
This costs £25 - but we’ll take more £££ if you’ve got it!
Every share sold gets us closer to the £100,000 we need to raise, so you can buy as many as you can afford.
But regardless of how much money you give us, we are a democratic society, so it’s 1 person = 1 vote.
We also have a pay-it-forward scheme if you want to buy shares for people on limited/no income.
Email us at: friendsjoinersarms@gmail.com

Want to learn more?

Business Plan

Read all about our plan to run this venue with the community.

Appendices

Supporting information for the Business Plan.

Share Offer

Find out what it means to own a share.

NEW for 2024: The JOIN Project

FOTJA have been awarded funding to explore how LGBTQ+ venues and organisations (like us!) can be actively supportive of everyone in our community. We want to learn: what volunteering, training, employment and other opportunities do you want to see FOTJA (and others!) offer? What really makes community spaces inclusive?

To help answer these questions, we’re running workshops, peer interviews and a survey specifically for LGBTQ+ people experiencing insecure housing and/or with precarious immigration status. We’re working with community partners and compensating all contributors.

Contact fotja.research@gmail.com if you want to learn more!

What people are saying:

“As a trans person, it feels like coming home when I go to a space like this [Lèse Majesté], a rare opportunity to feel truly comfortable in London”.”

— Attendee

“Lèse Majesté felt safe and revolutionary, all at the same time”.

— Attendee