City Bridge Foundation has said it will offer long-term core funding by default as part of a new 10-year strategy but that less money will be available.
After announcing a pause in accepting applications last year, the major London-based funder said today that it will narrow the focus of its funding over the next decade on tackling inequality and injustice across the capital as part of its Standing With Londoners strategy.
A spokesperson for the charity said “there won’t be as much money available as there has been in recent years” partly due to the rising costs of bridge maintenance, its primary function.
City Bridge Foundation, which looks after five River Thames crossings, announced in September 2024 that it would close its rolling grants programmes to new applications for a year due to an “unprecedented surge” in funding requests.
The charity said it would continue to assess and award grants under its old funding policy until this summer while supporting more than 1,400 organisations through active grants.
Social justice focus
Five years ago, City Bridge Foundation released £200m of additional funding, in addition to its day-to-day grantmaking, to help charities with Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis.
As that funding comes to an end, the charity said it now wants to move away from a broader approach to grantmaking to one focused on climate justice, access to justice, racial justice and economic justice.
It pledged to prioritise funding for community-led organisations, build on its long-standing commitment to infrastructure and capacity-building support and enhance support for advocacy, community organising and policy change.
Chief funding director Sacha Rose-Smith said London has changed “hugely in recent years” and City Bridge Foundation needs to change too, “standing in solidarity with organisations working to deliver change”.
She said: “While we’ll continue to fund some work which addresses the immediate needs of Londoners, there’ll be a much greater emphasis – in response to a long-standing call from the sector – on tackling the root causes and systemic factors which enable inequality and injustice to prevail.”
Less funding available
The charity will start developing its new programmes this summer, with the aim to launch at least one of them in autumn and more to follow next year and beyond.
It has already awarded around £60m to organisations across the capital this financial year, with over £48m allocated for next year, including £15m for the new funding policy.
A spokesperson said it was too early to know how much funding would be available overall for the new policy, adding that the allocation for future years beyond 2025-26 is yet to be confirmed.
They said: “Looking after our bridges is our main job and we need to take into account the rising costs of that maintenance alongside our investments and the wider financial context, before allocating budget for grant funding.”
One of the biggest changes the charity is making is offering long-term core funding by default and unrestricted funding wherever possible and appropriate.
The charity is also pledging to be a “more equitable funder” and adapt its processes where possible to “the diverse needs of our applicants, offering time and support to ensure we’re accessible to all”.
“An equitable approach requires us to direct more time and resources to those who need it most, as opposed to simply distributing it evenly,” it said.
“We’ll also reach out to communities and organisations that have been overlooked historically.”
Apart from offering pre-application calls, the charity said it will also provide constructive feedback to unsuccessful funding applicants.
“We’ll streamline our application and assessment processes to be faster, more efficient and more inclusive: introducing a two-stage application process, reducing the burden on those who are unsuccessful,” it said.
“We’re also exploring opportunities to integrate lived experience into our funding practice.”
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