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Nine Miles East is a podcast about a financial first. BD Giving’s GROW Fund is the first community-led investment
fund
FundA way for people to combine their money and invest together.
in the UK.
In Barking & Dagenham, residents have the power to make decisions about how a significant
endowment
EndowmentA legal structure for managing a financial investment. Often in the form of a donation to a non-profit organisation, such as a charity or university, which uses the income it generates for good work.
is invested in their neighbourhoods. And they have chosen to back community enterprises that will make a commercial and
social impact
Social ImpactThe positive or negative effect that an individual, organisation or project has on the well-being and welfare of a community or society as a whole.
in their area.
Host Elvire Matu, speaks to the business owners, the local decision makers, and BD Giving’s team who trust in the wisdom of local people to improve things for their community.
Listen to 9 Miles East wherever you get your podcasts.
FundA way for people to combine their money and invest together.
EndowmentA legal structure for managing a financial investment. Often in the form of a donation to a non-profit organisation, such as a charity or university, which uses the income it generates for good work.
Social ImpactThe positive or negative effect that an individual, organisation or project has on the well-being and welfare of a community or society as a whole.
Special edition: Back to the Boathouse
Latest Podcast
In this special edition of Nine Miles East, host Elvire Matu revisits The Boathouse Studio to hear from Carole Pluckrose, the artistic director of Boathouse Studios and one of the GROW Fund’s early participants. Barking and Dagenham Giving’s GROW Fund, is the first community-led investment fund in England.
Carole shares how the GROW Fund’s unrestricted grant, development programme, and £75,000 social investment is helping transform her business. Through candid reflections, she discusses the challenges and triumphs of becoming “investment ready,” and the ripple effects of the GROW Fund.
This episode sheds light on the power of resident-led funding in driving both social and commercial impact, showcasing Boathouse Studios as a community space where the arts, hospitality, and entrepreneurial spirit converge.
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Episode 8: Grow Fund Legacy & Future
As a financial first, the Grow Fund has created a blueprint for transforming the way money moves through a place, supporting local businesses and the community. So following the success of the 2023 cohort, what’s next? How can BD Giving build on this success? How can local residents get involved? And what’s the message to any curious social investor out there? Listen to episode 8 to find out!
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Episode 7: Radical Dispersal - A Better Way of Investing
Social InvestmentUsing money to help people and communities while also making money back.
Barking and Dagenham has been on quite a journey over the years. From a thriving industry hub, to a deprived borough full of tension and division, and emerging as a place where civil society are taking a participatory approach to decision-making and funding.
Kate, Amir and Julian discuss what conditions and attributes made that change possible. And Julian opens up about the inspiration he found walking alongside the people of Barking & Dagenham.
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Episode 6: Arts & Culture is the Answer
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Episode 5: Challenging the landscape
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Episode 4: A temple to the imagination
In episode 4 of 9 Miles East podcast, we meet Carole Pluckrose, the CEO and Artistic Director of The Boathouse Studios, and another of the Grow Fund grant recipients.
Gone are the days when every neighbourhood had a community hub; a space for people to come together for what we fundamentally need as people – human connection. With a background in the arts, Carole is passionate about the importance of creativity for bringing people together, and has made The Boathouse Studios the perfect place to do it. Located in the heart of Barking and Dagenham, it’s the ideal space for imagination to be explored and expanded.
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Episode 3: Sew Sustainable
In episode 3 of 9 Miles East podcast, we meet the first of the business owners who received the 25K grant and 6 months’ of business support from the Grow Fund.
It’s no secret that the fashion industry has had a harmful impact on our planet. But what is less well known, is how small businesses are doing their part to make a difference. Kemi Oloyede is the Creative Director of the Sew London Project. A teacher and fashion designer of many years, Kemi is passionate about ethical fashion, recycling textiles and upcycling clothes. The Sew London Project runs sewing classes, workshops, and also provides a bespoke fashion design service to the local community.
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Episode 2: Steering in the right direction
Episode 2: Steering in the right direction
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Episode 1: Barking & Dagenham: Riches to rags, back to riches
In the first episode of the podcast – 9 Miles East, we take a look back at Barking and Dagenham’s history, exploring the rise, fall and rise again, of one of London’s most underfunded boroughs. But what could a brand new funding model do to change things for the local community? Enter the GROW Fund! BD Giving’s Head of Learning and Participation Cameron Bray breaks down how the fund works and why it’s so important for the people and local businesses in the borough.
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9 Miles East Trailer
Social ImpactThe positive or negative effect that an individual, organisation or project has on the well-being and welfare of a community or society as a whole.
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