Posts by Louise Kavanagh
Residents’ vision for a community-owned Creative Youth Hub made real with initial £1.8 million investment in Barking
Young people will shape a community-led, community-owned creative hub in Barking A new Creative Youth Hub will give young people aged 16 to 30 somewhere to meet, create and turn their ideas into action. A site has not yet been chosen, but the current search is focused on Barking, where residents identified a need for…
Read MoreMeet the GROW 2026 Winners
Entrepreneurial Confidence, Community & Possibilities in Barking and Dagenham We’re thrilled to introduce 10 brilliant local entrepreneurs who will take part in GROW 2026. Each of them brings passion, skills and a vision for building brilliant businesses in Barking and Dagenham. The entrepreneurs get a £10,000 grant, coaching and peer learning, and access to social…
Read MoreBD Giving helps new scheme for East London
BD Giving to Host £250,000 Grant to Launch Havering Together Barking & Dagenham Giving will act as fiscal host for Havering Together, a new place-based giving scheme, following a £250,000 grant from City Bridge Foundation. Havering Together has been developed to address long-standing underinvestment in the outer East London borough by creating a platform for…
Read MoreCompany Drinks GROW with BD Giving
A local entrepreneur’s story Company Drinks is a CIC based in Barking. With support from BD Giving’s GROW Fund they’ve strengthened their trading model and are laying the foundations for long-term sustainability through social investment. Alongside producing drinks from locally foraged produce, the CIC also supports around ten local groups who use their building for…
Read MoreHelp Shape the Future of Spaces+Places
Request For Proposals As we move into the next exciting phase of the Spaces+Places community asset investment project, we’re inviting Requests for Proposals to help develop two business cases. The resident-led ideas were endorsed by local people and approved by our board in September. Now we’re looking for experienced individuals to work with the Neighbourhood…
Read MoreBD Giving Note #62 – Pride in Place: A Welcome Step, But Lasting Change Takes More
£5 billion over ten years is a bold commitment. The challenge now is to make it work for communities. My reflections on what it will take to make Pride in Place succeed. Géraud de Ville de Goyet (PhD) The government’s new Pride in Place strategy marks a welcome recognition that thriving communities need more than bricks and…
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