The definition of PGM is = “Participatory grant making (PGM) cedes decision-making power about funding – including the strategy and criteria behind those decisions – to the very communities that funders aim to serve.”

Kingsley Hall and Lankelly Chase have been working together since November 2019 to understand the voice, perspective, and opinions of those with lived experience of social challenges and marginalization from across the community. We have been testing PGM and other participatory methodologies to see if this leads to self-empowerment, an increase in confidence and their voice and perspective to become more prominent.

Dynamos of Dagenham was formed by members of the community with different life experiences in November 2019. We are a group that are “giving back to the community which was once lost but is now found.” We are a mixed group, of a variety of different backgrounds, but are uniting to identify, tackle and understand some key areas of need within Dagenham culture. We have had personal experience of many key areas of interest such as mental health problems, domestic violence, abuse, poverty, homelessness, caring for others and issues with receiving appropriate support. We have explored a wide range of ideas and solutions to help others in our communities based on our own experiences and solutions.

We believe that all these life experiences have equipped us to understand how others are feeling in society. To see a visual map of our journey, click here.