Communities Building Economic Change – new funding opens soon

From today, 2 September 2026, organisations can book a place on our live webinar and Q&A session on Tuesday 15 September 2026. 

On Monday 14 September 2026, we’ll publish the full funding information on our website, including eligibility guidance and application details. Applications will open on Tuesday 22 September 2026.

Webinar details: 12 noon to 1pm, Tuesday 15 September 2026: The session will introduce the fund, outline the eligibility criteria, explain the application process and invite attendees to ask questions. We encourage any organisation to attend the webinar before submitting an application. We’ll publish a recording and slides shortly after the event. 

Across the capital, too many people face financial hardship, forced to choose between essentials such as food, heating, rent, bills and care costs. Low pay, insecure and inaccessible work, and inadequate social security mean incomes often fall short, and debt and arrears are increasingly common.

Inequality is widening as wealth and ownership become more concentrated, and many people are priced out of their communities. Years of austerity and cuts have also weakened public services and the social infrastructure communities rely on.

Economic injustice is experienced unequally, disproportionately affecting communities who face discrimination and structural disadvantage due to racism, disability, gender, class, migration status, age, health and other forms of structural exclusion. Those most affected are often furthest from power and decision-making.

We believe these challenges share common root causes. They are not the result of individual failures but of the economic systems, policies, and power structures that shape our everyday lives. 

This fund aims to support efforts towards a just economy in which all Londoners can thrive, participate fully, and have a say in the decisions that affect them.

This round starts from the position that organisations deeply rooted in their communities are best placed to understand the lived experiences of economic injustice and the changes needed.

Across London, trusted, community-rooted organisations deliver vital support services in solidarity with people at the sharp end of economic injustice, such as running community kitchens and food pantries and providing advice.

Organisations have told us that although funders often like to divide this work into ​‘service delivery’ and longer-term ​‘systems change’, many organisations do both, but without resources or labelling it as such.

In this round, we’re offering core and flexible funding of up to £450,000 over five years, targeting small- to medium-sized, community-rooted organisations with an income of £50,000 to £1.5 million.

We’re looking for organisations who understand the lived realities of economic injustice and have a track record of using insights from frontline service delivery to shape systemic work tackling the causes of this injustice, in one or more of our three funding priorities:

• Building shared understanding of the economy (and what needs to change) by creating opportunities for people to come together to understand why and how problems such as poverty arise, and how they might be changed
• Securing the basics everyone needs to live well by advocating for access to essentials such as housing, food, energy, care, an adequate and reliable income, and decent work (for those able to work)
• Giving communities greater power and control over the decisions, land, buildings, businesses and services that shape their lives

This work might look like community organising, campaigning, developing policy change, or building and demonstrating alternative ways of doing things, such as community and co-operative ownership.

Through the Economic Justice programme, we also aim to strengthen London’s economic justice ecosystem by helping organisations connect, learn, and work together towards shared goals through collaborative learning, peer support, and network building.

Monday 14 September
Fund information goes live, including funding guidance, eligibility criteria, the Eligibility Checker and a sample application form

Tuesday 15 September
Live webinar and Q&A with our funding team from 12 noon

Tuesday 22 September
Applications open via our application portal. Organisations can also book a pre-application phone call

Friday 25 September
Pre-application calls open

Tuesday 3 November
Applications close

To be eligible, organisations must support communities in one or more of the 32 London boroughs and/​or the City of London. We cannot fund work delivered outside London or for people living elsewhere. 

If you’re already receiving a grant from us, you may still apply for this round. However, we may prioritise those new to us or those we haven’t funded recently. We can accept only one funding application per organisation in this round.

If you are unsure whether this fund is the right fit, please attend the webinar or book a pre-application call.

Communities Building Economic Change is the first round of Economic Justice funding to open under Standing with Londoners 2025–2035, with Access to Justice launching in 2025 and Climate & Environmental Justice in July 2026 (closing on 8 September 2026).