About

We're a place-based funder and investor working alongside residents to make sure our money goes where it can create the biggest impact for local communities. Together with local people we invest in local ideas, enterprises, and assets. 

Residents participate in all of our funding decisions. They help design funds, decide where investments and grants are made and shape the programmes we run.

The funding and support available changes throughout the year. The best way to understand what you can get involved in is to browse the Latest News section and sign up to our newsletter for regular updates.

Place-based giving is local people coming together, listening to each other and taking action to improve Barking and Dagenham for everyone.

We’re not tied to one cause or neighbourhood. Local people decide what matters - we raise money and support those ideas to make Barking and Dagenham better for every community.

PGM is a funding approach that shifts decision-making power from traditional foundations and grantmakers directly to the communities and individuals affected by the funding. In our case that means, residents decide what we fund and how we invest.

Like every charity, BD Giving has a board of trustees who are legally responsible for the charity and a staff team who plan and deliver our work. What makes BD Giving different is that residents are always involved in our decisions. In addition to participating in programmes and receiving funds, they help design funds, decide where investments are made and shape the programmes we run.

Community-led investing means that our investment priorities are set by, and investment decisions are made by, residents who reflect the demographics and lived experiences of local people. They ensure that what local people want and need remains the priority of our investments.

Our money comes from a number of sources: a transfer of Section 106 community infrastructure levy money to set up an endowment fund; other grantmaking organisations such as trusts and foundations; commissioning contracts; and revenue from investments that BD Giving has in the borough, and elsewhere.

That it has an impact way beyond the decision they make. Our decision-makers have used the experience and skills they have developed with us to take up positions of leadership in the community as trustees, school governors, business owners, grantees, and much more.

You can read more about the impact of our participatory approach in our published reports and across our social media channels.

There are several ways to get involved. Funders and investors can support us directly as a charity, putting your investment straight to work across Barking and Dagenham, or co-invest with us in one of our community-led funds, where grant-making decisions sit with local people. If it's learning you're after, you can explore our co-design process to see how we build projects with residents rather than for them, or commission us to run short courses and workshops teaching the tools we use every day: community-led grant-making, resident engagement, co-production and advocacy. And if you're unsure where to start, you can simply meet Kate for a tour of the borough: a chance to see the community firsthand, hear from local people, and get a feel for which opportunity fits your goals — no agenda, just a proper introduction.

Our approach to AI is to always be person-centred, so decisions will never be made wholly by AI. All applications will be reviewed by a human, who may be using AI to help speed up decision-making and carry out due diligence.

We will always be transparent about where, when, and how we are using AI and we expect the same in return.