A £250,000 grant to launch Havering Together has been secured from City Bridge Foundation, a world-class bridge owner responsible for five Thames crossings, and London’s biggest independent charity.
Havering Together is a borough-wide place-based giving scheme designed to unlock funding, strengthen community collaboration and support grassroots initiatives across Havering.
Havering Council has been highly supportive of Havering Together from its inception.
The initiative is being established with major start-up funding from the City Bridge Foundation and practical start-up support from Barking and Dagenham Giving.
Havering Together will bring together local resources, connect residents, businesses and voluntary organisations, and direct investment to the communities who need it most.
Havering has long been recognised as a ‘cold spot’ for external funding, and the new programme aims to change that by creating a dedicated, independently run platform for philanthropy, community giving and cross-sector partnership.
Developed through a joint steering group supported by London’s Giving, London Funders and the GLA, Havering Together will focus on three core priorities shaped by local insight.
- Cohesion: Creating opportunities for community participation, volunteering and youth engagement.
- Tackling Loneliness: Delivering listening events, tailored activities, mentoring and storytelling initiatives.
- Youth Opportunities: Working with local employers, including Thames Freeport, to boost skills, employment pathways and inclusive economic growth.
Havering Together will put essential infrastructure in place, including a Director, office space, community engagement activity and a participatory grantmaking model that enables residents to help shape local investment.
Barking and Dagenham Giving will provide fiscal hosting and professional advice during the set-up phase, ensuring strong governance and high-quality financial stewardship.
From its first year, Havering Together will begin awarding micro-grants, building local fundraising, and delivering outreach events across priority wards.
By Year Three, the programme aims to run three full grant rounds annually, establish a thematic community fund, grow corporate social responsibility partnerships, and secure a long-term sustainable income base.
Havering Together will operate independently as its own legal entity, with its own Board, ensuring community voice, transparency and long-term stability.
This new partnership marks a significant step forward in ensuring Havering’s communities can access the resources, funding and collaborative support needed to thrive.
Councillor Gillian Ford, Deputy Leader of Havering Council, said:
“This is an amazing opportunity and achievement and we are really grateful for this funding from City Bridge Foundation and the practical support from Barking and Dagenham Giving.
“This will provide a much-needed boost for our communities and provide a platform for further support and funding for those who need it most.
“Havering has not always been blessed with funding and other support so I am really pleased that it has been recognised that we have been missed out in the past.
“I want to thank City Bridge Foundation and hopefully this will help encourage more support from other such funds.”
Sacha Rose, Chief Funding Director for City Bridge Foundation said:
“Havering Together is exactly the kind of locally led, collaborative approach we want to support through our funding.
"This partnership will put the right infrastructure in place to unlock new investment, strengthen local connections and ensure funding reaches the communities who need it most.
"By backing Havering Together at this early stage, alongside partners with deep local insight and experience, we are helping to build a sustainable platform for community giving, collaboration and long‑term impact.”