Governance

The City Bridge Foundation Board has day-to-day responsibility for administering City Bridge Foundation on behalf of our Trustee, the City of London Corporation. 

The City Corporation’s principal decision making body, the Court of Common Council, retains ultimate oversight of, and responsibility for, City Bridge Foundation, with some aspects of our charity’s governance and administration being reserved to the Court. 

The City Bridge Foundation Board delegates some of its responsibilities to its two Committees:

1. The Investment Committee: responsible for the strategic oversight and monitoring of the performance of the charity’s investment portfolio. 
2. The Funding Committee: responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the funding policy, which includes grant-making and social investment activities.

The City of London Corporation is the trustee of City Bridge Foundation, acting by the Court of Common Council. The Court of Common Council carries out these trustee functions through the City Corporation’s internal governance framework, whether by members in committee or officers operating under delegated authority.

Trustees have particular legal duties and responsibilities, including to act independently and in the best interests of the charity and only in furtherance of the charitable purposes of the charity, to safeguard the charity’s assets and reputation, to act within their powers and to manage conflicts of interest.

Trustees need to understand the regulatory landscape and the particular compliance and reporting obligations which apply. Aside from these legal obligations, trustees are also expected to meet certain standards of good governance practice which are aimed at supporting compliance with the law and regulatory landscape and supporting the successful operation of the charity for its charitable purposes.

Visit the City of London Corporation’s website

City Bridge Foundation is working with seven equity partners — organisations which act as critical friends to the charity.

Each equity partner is an organisation with active engagement across London and a focus on a group or groups as defined by the Equalities Act.

In most cases, our equity partners are second-tier organisations providing infrastructure support to other organisations. They are also ​‘led by and for’ the communities or groups they represent.

The equity partners advise and support us on the implementation of our funding policy and processes, including our approach to impact and learning. They also help us to better understand the sectors and environments they operate in, and the communities they represent.

Individually and collectively, our equity partners bring a range of perspectives to help inform City Bridge Foundation’s work.

Our Bridging London strategy sets a clear and ambitious vision for a connected capital, which we will deliver by maintaining and promoting world-class bridges, developing and delivering world-class charitable funding, and embedding and encouraging world-class responsible business practices. Our cross-cutting strategic ambitions of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Climate Action will be fundamental to everything we do.

Our new funding policy, launched in March 2025, focuses on changing the systems that keep people marginalised, while also addressing the issues communities face right now.

The new funding policy aims to maximise the impact of our resources in achieving a more equitable London. We will do this by focusing on changing the systems that keep people marginalised — through collaboration and co-ordination across London’s civil society, charities, communities, funders, government and business.

We aim to launch the first of our new funding programmes in autumn 2025.

Our investment objectives seek to support the achievement of our vision and aims as set out in the Bridging London Strategy. This is to support a better connected London by taking a values-driven approach to becoming a world-class bridge owner, charitable funder and responsible leader.

View or download our Annual Reports and Financial Statements for the last five years.

At City Bridge Foundation we are committed to being a truly inclusive, anti-racist organisation with a robust, progressive and proactive Equity, Diversity and Inclusion programme.

At City Bridge Foundation we are committed to being a truly inclusive, anti-racist organisation with a robust, progressive and proactive Equity, Diversity and Inclusion programme.