The City Bridge Trust, a London-based charitable foundation, has announced it will increase its grant-giving from around £15m a year to around £20m a year for each of the next three years.

The money will be awarded to London charities involved with disability, youth employment, mental health and inclusion. Charities can apply for grants of any size.

The CBT said it will focus particularly on towards projects to help disabled people into work. It said disabled people are currently twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled people.

Jeremy Mayhew, the chairman of the CBT, said: “In our 20th year we are underlining our long-term commitment to London by providing extra funds to help disadvantaged Londoners, to strengthen charities, and to encourage increased collaboration between the public, private and charitable sectors”.

The CBT is funded through the surplus income of the Bridge House Estates, a foundation with the total assets of more than £1bn. The Bridge House Estates is owner of the five bridges that cross the Thames into the City business district, with the City of London Corporation as the sole trustee.

The grant increase was decided by the Court of Common Council of the corporation.

Decisions on the grant applications are made by the CBT Committee, comprised of members of the City of London Corporation, who meet six times throughout the year in: January, March, May, September and November.

The trust has awarded grants to more than 7,000 London charities since being founded in 1995.