Our year with London’s biggest independent funder

For the past year City Bridge Foundation has had the pleasure of welcoming into our team Chloe Lloyd and Mitva Shah as associate funding managers through the 2027 programme.

The 10-year scheme, supported by Barrow Cadbury Trust, the National Lottery Community Fund and Esmée Fairbairn, aims to increase the representation of working-class people in the grant-making sector.

Each year a cohort of applicants is selected to undertake the development programme alongside 12-month paid placements with funders across the UK. The aim: that by 2027, working-class people will hold more power and decision-making roles in grant-making.

Here, Chloe and Mitva share their thoughts with us on their year working for London’s biggest independent charity funder.

It has been an absolute whirlwind of a year working here at City Bridge Foundation; we have learnt so much about grant-making, met so many fantastic and inspiring people, and even got to explore more of London – of course visiting some world class bridges along the way!

A crucial part of being a funding manager at City Bridge Foundation is connecting with the organisations that we support. In our first week we had the perfect opportunity to dip our feet in by attending a Media Trust Films event, showcasing a series of powerful short films about some of City Bridge Foundation’s grantees.

It was so inspiring to see the impact of their work on the big screen, and exciting to think about the role we would be playing in directing funds to other good causes.

As associate funding managers, our role has primarily been in assessing grant applications and being a point of contact for active grants. As our funding is all London-based, we’re fortunate to often be able to visit applicants and grantees in person – which is a definite highlight of the job.

Talking with organisations about the issues they are tackling, as well as their achievements and challenges, has been instrumental in our development as funding managers. Not only have these connections grown our knowledge of London’s voluntary sector and its needs, but also helped us to think about how we can make our grant-making practices more equitable and relational.

This has been increasingly relevant for us working at City Bridge Foundation, as this year the foundation has started to look ahead to a new funding strategy and new ways of working. It has been a fantastic learning experience to be involved with this process, which really kicked off early this year with the Envisioning London 2035 event held at the Barbican Centre.

Against the lush backdrop of the Barbican Garden room, 130 stakeholders – including some fellow 2027 associates – came together to design a collective vision for London in 2035 and consider how City Bridge Foundation could contribute to making this vision a reality.

In the months following that event, it has been fascinating to work with the funding strategy steering group to analyse the results of our stakeholder consultations and research into the key themes which have emerged. Being able to bring our own knowledge, experience and ideas to the table on such an influential piece of work has been both exciting and rewarding.

However, at times working on important projects such as this has allowed the imposter syndrome to set in. As newbies in this space, does what we think really hold any weight?

We were able to tackle this problem head on through the 2027 programme’s coaching and peer sessions, supporting one another to thrive and succeed in our placements. It goes without saying that our colleagues at City Bridge Foundation have also played a huge part in growing our confidence, providing endless support as well as ample opportunities to get involved with projects which pique our interest.

So, with two new 2027 associates due to start a placement at City Bridge in the coming weeks, what is our advice as we hand over the torch?

Tip number one: just get involved! There is always so much going on at City Bridge Foundation and colleagues will always appreciate your help and input. By the end of the year, you’ll have a great list of experiences to add to your CV.

Tip number two: get talking to funded organisations! Tag along with other Funding Managers to meetings and events, or even go solo! You never know who you’ll end up chatting to, and you may even end up with some useful talking points to bring to your next meeting.

Tip number three (and probably the most important tip): secure a spot on the staff Tower Bridge Behind the Scenes Tour! It’s such a fun morning away from the office, getting to learn more about London’s most iconic landmark from some incredibly knowledgeable colleagues.