Funding
We fund organisations working to make London fairer – strengthening communities and challenging the systems that marginalise them. Explore our current opportunities and other ways we support charitable work.
Our approach to funding
We use a range of core and flexible funding approaches across our programmes – from responsive and strategic grants to partnerships, enterprise support and social investment – depending on what best supports London’s communities.
How we fund: Standing with Londoners
We are London’s largest independent charitable funder. For 30 years, we have used our surplus income from the bridges we maintain to support communities across the capital. We know that too many Londoners still face barriers to having fair and equitable lives.
Our vision is of a city that is truly connected, where every individual and community can thrive. This vision of social justice guides all our charitable funding, shaped by our values of service, collaboration, inclusion, innovation and ambition.
Our funding is shaped by what we hear from frontline charitable organisations and the people they serve. We are committed to being a hopeful, thoughtful, collaborative and equitable funder, supporting work that addresses current needs and challenges the systems that perpetuate injustice.
More information on our vision for a fairer London, addressing social justice inequalities across four key areas: Access to Justice, Climate and Environmental Justice, Economic Justice, and Racial Justice.
The impact we want to see, together
We know that lasting change doesn’t happen in isolation. We work intentionally with communities, partners and change-makers to deliver social justice at scale.
We use our grant-making, social investment and networks to achieve the greatest impact:
- Connecting communities: Strengthening the organisations and infrastructure that allow communities to thrive – through leadership development, capacity building, networking and collective power.
- Meeting needs: Funding high-quality, holistic frontline support for people most affected by inequality – rooted in community insights and lived experience.
- Catalysing change: Supporting the voices and movements driving social change – including advocacy, campaigns, evidence, research, and strategic communications.
Across everything we do, we stand with Londoners – using our influence, voice and assets to mobilise others and help shape a fairer capital for all.
How we work with organisations
We prioritise organisations ‘led by and for’ the communities they serve, and work that delivers the greatest impact for Londoners.
We also know that how we fund is as important as what we fund. Our approach includes:
Where possible, we offer long-term, core and flexible grants. We also provide micro-grants and project funding where it’s most effective.
We adapt our processes to suit different needs – offering more time, flexibility and support where it’s needed. We proactively reach out to communities that have been historically underfunded.
We offer pre-application calls as well as feedback for unsuccessful applicants. We regularly seek input from applicants and grant holders to enhance our processes and improve how we work.
We have a two-stage application process, which reduces the burden for unsuccessful organisations, and we implement ongoing improvements to make the application process more accessible.
We build partnerships across sectors and are exploring ways to incorporate lived experience into our assessments and decision-making processes.
Funder Plus: more than funding
Our Funder Plus offer supports organisations in building resilience and adapting to changing circumstances. Funder Plus is evolving to align with our vision of justice and reflect the skills, capabilities, and systemic approaches needed to address London’s most pressing challenges. We offer relationship-focused skills development, peer-based learning and connections between stakeholders.
Learning and improvement
We know London’s needs will change over the next decade – and our funding must adapt accordingly. We will work with partners to design theories of change together, helping to identify the shifts we want to see and outlining the steps we will take to achieve them.
Throughout Standing with Londoners, we will:
- Collect and analyse data across programmes and communities
- Share learning openly through regular events, networking and resources
- Listen and respond to what organisations tell us about what’s working (and what isn’t)
- Improve our programmes based on real insights from partners and communities
We aim to continually improve the knowledge and skills of all partners working together towards a fairer London.
The ways we fund
We use a range of partnership funding approaches across all programmes:
Organisations apply through our open programmes, which are either rolling or time-limited.
We identify a need or opportunity and work closely with organisations to develop proposals.
We pool or align funding with other partners to increase reach and impact.
We help organisations strengthen financial sustainability – including supporting them to earn income or increase trading.
We offer repayable finance to organisations that aligns with our commitment to Standing with Londoners and supports capital projects, new models, or cash-flow needs.
Crisis and emergency support
We work with partners to respond quickly and collaboratively during crises and emergencies — deploying resources where needed and allocating extra funds in escalating situations to protect Londoners and the sector.
Transition funding
To help maintain momentum in key areas during the transition to Standing with Londoners, we are delivering Strategic Transition Awards – one-off investments in sectors where we have been a long-term funder – to provide ongoing support and strengthen capacity, driving continued progress.
These awards are not open for application, but we will share more about them in the coming months.
Standing with Londoners
City Bridge Foundation has a new ten-year funding policy called Standing with Londoners