# City Bridge Trust launches £100 million charity pot to help disadvantaged Londoners

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/04/24/city-bridge-trust-100m-charity-pot-help-disadvantaged-londoners/
- Published: 2018-04-24T06:56:28+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**City Bridge Trust has launched a new five-year funding programme, Bridging Divides,
which will see £100m distributed to the capital’s charities to help disadvantaged
Londoners.**

In a consultation, [City Bridge Trust](https://www.citybridgetrust.org.uk/) asked
Londoners, charities and community groups, public and private sectors, funders and
policy makers for their views on the health of the charity sector.

Responses spanned 1,000 Londoners and described a charity industry ‘in crisis’ and‘
at tipping point’, with reductions in state funding and spiralling costs of living
in London contributing to a surge in demand for services.

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

Through [Bridging Divides](https://www.citybridgetrust.org.uk/what-we-do/grant-making/),
City Bridge Trust has pledged a more flexible charity funding approach, including
grants of different sizes and duration, with more targeted social investment and
match funding.

City Bridge Trust’s research also saw the capital’s charities raise Brexit as an
issue of concern, with uncertainty about future European Union funding, staff recruitment
and demand for charity services all being referenced. Bridging Divides aims to address
these concerns through targeted charity funding.

Areas to receive support from Bridging Divides include:

 * Supporting survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, modern day slavery, trafficking
   and hate crime
 * Helping people experiencing food poverty through food banks
 * Backing for environmental projects
 * Boosting integration support services for migrants and refugees
 * Enabling disabled and older people to have more choice and control
 * Helping ex-offenders to transform their lives

Alison Gowman, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust Committee,
said:

>  _“In the next five years we will transform the lives of thousands of Londoners
> most in need._
> “We_ will give a voice to people who are underrepresented, give independence to
> those who are held back, and cut the inequality which should not exist in the 
> capital._
>  _ __“Working closely with charities we can stay alive to the changing needs of
> Londoners, strengthen our communities and make this city a fairer place to work
> and live.”_

Bridging Divides is split into three new charity funding programmes – Connecting
the Capital, Positive Transitions, and Advice and Support.

 * Connecting the Capital: through this, City Bridge Trust will fund charity programmes
   including sports and arts projects for people with disabilities, philanthropic
   giving, and greening and growing projects that bring communities together and
   improve the local environment
 * Positive Transitions grants will be given to charities supporting projects that
   help Londoners experiencing inequality to transform their lives. This will include
   funding for programmes supporting disadvantaged young people and support for 
   survivors of domestic abuse.
 * Advice and Support funding will support Londoners with the changes to welfare
   benefits, homelessness, unaffordable housing and the increasing cost of living
   in London.

City Bridge Trust will also offer charities advice on business development, environmental
sustainability policies and exit strategy planning.

The Trust makes grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantage and inequality
across the capital. It has awarded more than 7,700 grants totalling over £370 million
since it first began in 1995.

 * **[vInspired’s discount card to reward young people for social action](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/05/10/vinspireds-discount-card-reward-young-people-social-action/)**(
   10 May 2018)
 * **[hub for London moves closer to launch with appointment of CEO](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/06/01/hub-london-moves-closer-launch-appointment-ceo/)**(
   1 June 2018)
 * **[Charities focused on local causes in decline across London, research suggests](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/06/27/charities-focused-local-causes-decline-across-london-research-suggests/)**(
   27 June 2018)

![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader-
2x.gif)