Grants & support for London’s charitable sector

Funding to support young people with experience of the justice system

The Co-op Foundation has new funding to support organisations helping young people with experience of the justice system. 

For the second round of their Future Communities Fund they want to support organisations that are helping young people with experience of the justice system to re-build their lives and settle back into their communities. 

They are looking to fund approximately ten organisations through this £1.75m programme round. Grants will be up to a total of £150,000 over five years and will be awarded on an unrestricted basis.

The fund will be open to organisations with a turnover of £250,000 or less.

The application deadline is midday on Thursday, 12 June 2025. This is the first stage of a two-stage assessment process. 

Learn more: www.coopfoundation.org.uk/blog/fcf-2-open 

Organisational development funding for Black and racially minoritised-led women’s and girls’ organisations

The 2025 Rosa Rise Fund is offering two-year grants of up to £40,000 to organisations with an income of between £30,000 and £300,000. 

The funding is for organisational development work relating to areas such as strategy, governance, leadership, alliances and partnerships, funding, demonstrating impact and systems and processes.

Application deadline: Monday, 23 June 2025

Learn more: www.rosauk.org/our-programmes/rise-fund

Shared Endeavour Fund

Delivered by Groundwork London, this sixth round of funding offers grants of up to £100,000 to support initiatives that challenge racism, hate, intolerance, extremism and radicalisation in London.

Launched in in January 2020, the Shared Endeavour Fund, supports civil society projects that:

• Strengthen communities against extremism,
• Encourage more Londoners to stand up to hate and intolerance,
• Safeguard Londoners vulnerable to radicalisation,
• Stop the spread of hateful and supremacist ideologies.

Larger grants will go to organisations working across more London boroughs. 

The deadline for applications is 11am, Friday 6 June 2025.

Learn more: www.groundwork.org.uk/london/shared-endeavour-fund

The Roots and Routes Fund for youth-led organisations fighting for climate justice

This new fund can provide one-year grants of up to £20,000 to youth-led organisations which must have a minimum of 55% of their leadership aged 18–30. 

The aim is to fund work that empowers young people to challenge and change the oppressive systems, processes and practices that prevent or hinder them from making their voices heard and making meaningful change.

The application deadline is at midnight on Monday, 2 June 2025. 

Learn more: www.blagravetrust.org/our-work/roots-routes-fund

Community grants in SE and NE London 

Each year, the London City Airport Community Fund awards £75,000 in grants, ranging from £300 to £3,000. These funds go to local organisations who are creating significant and positive change in diverse, inclusive communities across East London.

They welcome applications from charities and not-for-profit organisations whose projects aim to improve quality of life in local communities by:

• Building stronger, safer and healthier communities
• Creating more sustainable and greener communities
• Raising aspirations of East Londoners

The next grant submission deadline is Friday, 20 June 2025. 

Learn more at: www.londoncityairport.com/corporate/our-community

Theatres Trust’s Small Grants Programme

This programme funds small projects that make a big impact to a theatre’s resilience, sustainability, accessibility or improving the diversity of audiences.

Grants of up to £7,500 are available for essential works to enable not-for-profit theatres across the UK to be viable and thrive in the future.

Eligible projects include small capital works, the installation of key plant and machinery and works which make theatre buildings digital-ready. 

This scheme will prioritise improvements to buildings that protect theatre use and remove barriers to participation and attendance.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they own or manage theatres with titles or signed leases of more than five years, and run a year-round programme of live performance, of no less than 30 performances a year. 

Application deadline is 5pm on Friday, 6 June 2025. The next deadline will be in January 2026.

See: www.theatrestrust.org.uk/smallgrants

National Lottery Awards for All England

Grants from £300 to £20,000 to support community-led projects for up to two years.

You can apply for funding to deliver a new or existing activity or to support your organisation to change and adapt to new and future challenges.

The National Lottery will fund projects that’ll do at least one of these things:

• bring people together to build strong relationships in and across communities
• improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
• help more people to reach their potential, by supporting them at the earliest possible stage
• support people, communities and organisations facing more demands and challenges because of the cost-of-living crisis.

The application deadline is ongoing.

Learn more: www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding

Grants from the Weavers’ Company 

Funding for organisations that can demonstrate impact with ex-offenders, young offenders or young people at risk of offending. 

The Weavers’ Company will also consider projects that work with young people from disadvantaged and socio-economically challenged groups, such as immigrants, to ensure they are given every possible chance to realise their full potential and to participate fully in society. 

Their small grants programme is capped at £5,000. Their main grants programme is uncapped, more guidance on their website. 

Their Charitable Grants Committee meets in February, June and October of each year. 

Learn more: www.weavers.org.uk/charity/charitable-grants/guidelines

Energy Resilience Fund from The Ubele Initiative

The Energy Resilience Fund can provide a blended funding package comprising a 60% loan and 40% grant to enhance the energy resilience of eligible charities and social enterprises in England. 

This initiative supports projects aimed at improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, and lowering energy costs. This funding is aimed at organisations that are unable to access mainstream bank lending for this purpose.

Value: £25k — £250k (40% grant). Eligible expenditures include:

• Energy-efficient lighting, insulation, and glazing upgrades 
• Solar panels, battery storage, and heating systems 
• Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles 
• Equipment for catering, manufacturing, or facility upgrades

No deadline given. Learn more: www.ubele.org/our-work/energy-resilience-fund

Access to justice for Disabled people

This funding from Three Guineas can support work to provide legal advice and advocacy, or to overcome barriers to access advice and advocacy services for Disabled or neurodivergent people. 

Maximum grant will be £50,000 a year, for up to three years.

There are no restrictions on what resources the grant can be used to pay for provided the work furthers Disabled or neurodivergent people’s access to justice.

Eligible projects should be supporting Disabled or neurodivergent people to exercise their rights on:

• Income, welfare benefits or debt
• Housing and homelessness
• Community care
• Personal liberty
• Equal access to goods and services

Closing date for applications: 12 June 2025 by 6pm.

Learn more: www.threeguineastrust.org.uk/grants/access-to-law

Small grants for environmental projects

Naturesave Insurance can provide grants of between £500 and £5,000 for work connecting local communities to nature.

They are looking to fund charities, community groups, and organisations who are working to connect communities to nature through:

• Arts and cultural activities
• Community gardening
• Green gyms
• Eco anxiety and mental health
• Training a community with green skills 
• Conservation volunteering
• Urban nature programmes
• Social prescribing
• Access to nature
• Community wildlife surveys
• Nature mindfulness

The next application deadline is midday on Tuesday, 15 July 2025.

Learn more: www.naturesave.co.uk/naturesave-trust

Our Funder Plus offer for funded organisations

Every organisation funded by City Bridge Foundation can apply for free, additional support that goes beyond funding. This is our Funder Plus offer. 

For instance, we can provide fee support your organisation’s development and governance, fundraising or business planning.

Eligible funded organisation can benefit from free access to training courses, attendance at conferences, and/​or peer-to-peer learning. Many more support options are available. City Bridge Foundation offers all of this at no financial cost to your organisation.

Learn more at www.citybridgefoundation.org.uk/funder-plus

Launch your career in community grantmaking with 2027

At the heart of the 2027 programme is a paid, 12-month job at a leading grant-making organisation, such as City Bridge Foundation, alongside mentoring and full professional development programme. 

2027 specifically focuses on working with those who self-define as working-class, including many from minoritised and underrepresented communities. Successful applicants are employed full time in a one-year grant-making or related role and paid £25,000.

During this time they also take part in a development programme comprising mentoring, facilitated and self-directed learning, residentials and peer support spaces. 

Applicants should have at least two years of experience working directly in the community in any frontline position, whether in a job or as a volunteer. You might, for example, be a teaching assistant, nurse practitioner, PCSO, community worker or volunteer, young offending panellist or any similar role where you have direct contact with your community.

If you or someone you know is looking to develop a career with more influence on enacting change, this could be the opportunity for you.

Apply by Sunday, 15 June 2025. Find out more: www.2027.org.uk

Free training for social purpose organisations 

This free course from the School for Social Entrepreneurs is aimed at organisations with an income of more than £15,000 in the last year. 

You might be running a community business, charity, CIC, co-op, or a for-profit with purpose. If your work benefits Londoners and you’re ready to grow, they want to hear from you.

They’re especially keen to support leaders from organisations tackling the big issues facing London today: climate change, inequality, poverty, health, housing, crime and unemployment.

If you’re leading a mission-driven organisation in London and you’re ready to increase your trading income, this is your next bold step. The programme will run from September 2025 to February 2026 over nine days (a mix of online and in-person London-based sessions). 

Next information session: 2pm‑2.30pm on Tuesday, 10 June 2025. Applications close at 12pm on Monday, 30 June 2025. 

Find out more: www.the-sse.org/courses/shifting-london-learning-programme

Free property webinar: How to read a lease 

This informative, accessible webinar run by the Ethical Property Foundation’s experienced solicitors and surveyors covers the basics of how to read a lease. 

Over this lunchtime session you’ll learn how to understand what you are signing, how it affects your organisation and how to manage your relationship with your landlord. 

• Understand the lease process and why it matters
• Work your way through a lease calmly, understanding with confidence the common words and phrases used
• Understand what a lease legally obliges your organisation to deliver and what your landlord is responsible for
• Evaluate the reasonable and unreasonable elements in a draft lease and how to negotiate to your advantage
• Participants will receive an information pack with the opportunity to obtain free follow-up expert advice

Date and time: 12pm to 1pm on Thursday, 5 June 2025. Supported by City Bridge Foundation. 

Sign up here: www.propertyhelp.org/events/charity-lease-webinar

Inclusive Facilitation training for disabled and neurodivergent adults

Join other disabled and neurodivergent Londoners in a series of theatre-based sessions to develop skills and experience in inclusive facilitation, provided by Change, Act!

You’ll learn how to run workshops which are physically and cognitively accessible and use inclusive communication techniques.

These free in-person sessions will take place over ten Monday afternoons (1pm to 4pm) between Monday, 16 June 2025 and Monday, 11 August 2025. Location: The Pembury Community Centre, 1 Atkins Square, Dalston Lane, London E8 1FA. 

If this sounds like something you, or someone you know, would like to get involved in sign up for the taster session on Monday, 16 June at www.eventbrite.com

Artificial intelligence in the charity sector

If you couldn’t join us for our recent Spotlight Talk on AI, you may be interested in some of the resources we shared after the session. 

During the talk we covered a lot of ground, including:

• Principles for using AI ethically and transparently
• The environmental footprint of AI 
• How AI is saving charities time to focus on what really matters
• Tools, templates, and training to help you get started (or go further)

And our key takeaway was: Good prompts make all the difference! 

How you ask questions in AI tools like ChatGPT affects the quality of the responses. It’s not about being technical, it’s about being clear, specific, and intentional. That’s why resources like Lightful’s Prompt Tips Checklist are so useful. 

You can find this checklist and other resources, alongside a recording of the Spotlight Talk on our website. See www.citybridgefoundation.org.uk/news-and-blog

A big thank you to our excellent panellists and everyone who joined our Spotlight Talk on AI. Upcoming talks will be highlighted in this bulletin.

Free training for women’s and girls’ organisations 

Rosa’s free, online Summer Conference takes place on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 June 2025, celebrating the incredible work of women-led organisations working to make the UK a fairer, safer place for women and girls. 

Rosa are providing a programme of free, bite-sized training opportunities for women’s and girls’ organisations on the second day of the conference. 

Sign up for the following Zoom sessions on Wednesday 18 June. 

• Communicating your impact (9.30 — 10.30am)
• Unlocking the potential of earned income (11 — 12.15am)
• Recruiting and retaining a great Board (1 — 2.15pm)
• Leading high performing teams (2.30 — 4pm) 

Learn more: Rosa Fund Summer Conference 2025

Free AI resources from CAST

CAST is a charitable organisation helping UK charities and social impact organisations to make the fullest use of digital technology, in order to be as responsive and resilient as possible.

As part of their free digital support they have a regularly updated library of AI resources, supporting you to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with AI. This includes two upcoming training sessions:

• Getting the most from AI — Boosting productivity on Thursday, 12 June, 10am — 11.30am
• What could AI mean for your charity’s mission? Wednesday, 25 June, 10am — 11.30am

And a series of free Q&A drop-in sessions, alongside other events and resources.

Check out what’s on offer at www.wearecast.org.uk/our-work

How to choose and implement a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system

This free 75-minute session from Superhighways is aimed at anybody working in a small charity or community group who is in the process of choosing or implementing a CRM.

A good CRM enables organisations to better use data to demonstrate their impact, improve efficiencies and shape future services.

The online session will cover: 

• Data culture — bringing your team on the journey
• Defining functional requirements
• Risks and challenges
• System set up and customisation
• CRM options for smaller charities
• Embedding your system every day

Date and time: 2pm — 3.15pm on Tuesday, 17 June 2025. Supported by City Bridge Foundation.

Book here: www.events.superhighways.org.uk/events/940

Are you part of London’s advice sector? Your voice matters

As demand for social welfare advice surges, the Advice Services Alliance (ASA) has launched a major review into workforce capacity challenges across the sector.

Whether you’re a frontline adviser, service manager, or sector leader—have your say. The online questionnaire is open until the end of June 2025 and takes around 10–15 minutes to complete. If you leave your name and contact details you will have the chance of winning one of five £50 John Lewis vouchers.

Respondents can also request a one-to-one conversation to share their views.

See: www.adviceworkforcedevelopmentfund.org.uk

The London Community Resilience Toolkit

The London Community Resilience Toolkit has been designed to help London’s communities get started on their community resilience journey.

The free toolkit, provided by The London Resilience Unit and Groundwork, offers practical information and guidance to help communities better prepare for and respond to future challenges and emergencies.

It is designed for anyone thinking about building greater community resilience in their local area. It will help you to identify local resources and partners, develop relationships with and support volunteers, and think about how you can use your community space – all to support your community.

Find out more: www.communitiesprepared.org.uk

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