Community Panels – Putting the Choice Directly in Community Hands

Empowering Communities Through Local Voices

At Bedford Giving, we believe the best way to create real change is to listen to the people who know their community best. That’s why we’ve established Community Panels—bringing local residents together to share their insights on the issues that matter most to them.

These panels ensure that funding and support go where they are truly needed, putting the power to make decisions directly into the hands of the community. This aligns with the core values of place-based giving, where solutions are driven by the people they impact the most.

Parent panels: our first set of community panels

We brought together two groups of parents of under 8s and under 5s to tell us what services they felt were needed in the borough for their children and let them make decisions about where funding was spent.

Youth Panels: hearing from young people

Young people are at the heart of our work, and we want to make sure their voices are heard. That’s why we’ve partnered with Bedford College to create a dedicated Youth Panel—a space where young people can share their perspectives, highlight key challenges, and influence the decisions that affect their lives.

By working together, we can make meaningful, lasting change in Bedford and beyond. Watch this space for updates about how to join our panels in the future.