£30,000 for community groups announced at Giving Week!

In exciting news for community groups, on the last day of Giving Week Councillor Dominic Twomey announced that £30,000 of additional funding will be made available to community groups this year.

Councillor Saima Ashraf Deputy Leader of the Council London Borough of Barking & Dagenham Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement says:

The Council are excited to be working with BD Giving on running a participatory grant process where community groups can apply for small grants. As part of this process, members of the public will be invited to make collaborative decisions about where the funding is allocated.

— Cllr Ashraf

Councillor Twomey Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance & Core Services announced the funding in a special video made following social distancing guidelines, outside the Town Hall.

This new funding, along with initiatives like Giving Week are about building relationships and skills so we can all participate in strengthening the borough, now and for future generations. This type of grant making process trusts community members to come together and make shared decisions about how money is awarded. It is as much about deepening connections with the community as it is about the funded outcomes of the process.

— Geraud de Ville de Goyet

One community decision-maker described what’ it’s like to be involved in participatory grant making:

I felt a sense of responsibility to the community developing throughout the process – it’s one thing caring about the community, it’s another thing to make decisions that impact on it.

If you’re interested in applying for funding or becoming a decision-maker, please complete this form to get an update as soon as applications open.