City Bridge Foundation Awards £10m to support London’s communities through funding transition

These Strategic Transition Awards have been made as part of the Foundation’s transition from its previous funding policy to its new 10-year strategy, Standing with Londoners, providing stability and continuity for the sector as new programmes are developed and rolled out.

Through these one-off investments, City Bridge Foundation is standing alongside organisations it has funded over many years, helping to sustain services, retain expertise and protect progress during a period of change.

The Strategic Transition Awards focus on areas where sustained investment is critical to maintaining momentum, capacity and specialist expertise across the sector.

These awards have been made across seven areas:

• £3 million awarded to charities tackling violence against women and girls, supporting 52 organisations, including Women’s Resource Centre and the Latin American Women’s Rights Service
• £2 million awarded to support Deaf and disabled people, through Trust for London’s Disability Justice Fund
• £1.1 million awarded for suicide prevention, to Samaritans
• £1 million awarded for infrastructure organisations, to London Plus, Enfield Voluntary Action, Freshwater Foundation and Havering Together
• £1 million awarded to support children and young people, to People’s Health Trust and London Community Foundation (Lead the Change)
• £1 million awarded to support LGBTQ+ communities, to Consortium
• £900,000 awarded to improve access, to the Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE)

One of the first awards made through this programme was to Samaritans, supporting its 24/7 helpline, targeted services for people most at risk of suicide, and work to drive long-term change.

A significant number of these awards support organisations working with women and girls. Despite increasing levels of recorded male-perpetrated violence against women and girls, services in this area have faced persistent underfunding. These awards reflect both the scale of need and the importance of sustained support.

Together, the Strategic Transition Awards build on long-standing partnerships and a shared commitment to supporting Londoners, ensuring organisations can continue their work without disruption as the Foundation transitions its funding approach.

The Strategic Transition Awards sit alongside Standing with Londoners 2025–2035, City Bridge Foundation’s 10-year commitment to tackling inequality across the capital.

Launched in 2025, the policy marks a shift towards a stronger social justice focus, aiming to maximise impact by addressing the root causes of inequality and the systems that keep people marginalised. 

The policy focuses on four key areas: access to justice, climate and environmental justice, economic justice, and racial justice.

Programmes under this new approach are already underway. Access to Justice opened for applications at the end of 2025, with Climate and Environmental Justice and Economic Justice programmes opening during summer 2026, and Racial Justice to follow later in the year.

The Strategic Transition Awards are an important bridge between funding approaches, combining immediate support with long-term ambition.

They reflect City Bridge Foundation’s continued commitment to working alongside the sector, listening to partners, and supporting London’s communities now and into the future.

Further stories highlighting funded organisations and the impact of these awards will be shared in the coming months.

City Bridge Foundation is a world-class bridge owner and London’s largest independent charity funder. With a history spanning more than 900 years, it is responsible for maintaining five Thames crossings — Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge and Millennium Bridge — at no cost to the taxpayer. Alongside this, the Foundation awards funding to charitable organisations across London, supporting work that tackles inequality and strengthens communities. Its sole trustee is the City of London Corporation.