£6.5 million granted to 20 London social welfare advice charities
Howard Lake | 16 July 2026 | News
Twenty charities working across London have been awarded a share of £6.5 million from City Bridge Foundation to strengthen social welfare advice and social action in the capital.
Together they will help thousands of Londoners access trusted advice, understand their rights and navigate challenges from homelessness and benefits decisions to debt, housing and immigration.
The funding marks the first awards made through City Bridge Foundation’s Access to Justice programme.
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Recipients include Migrants Organise, Rainbow Migration, Roma Support Group and Stonewall Housing, and support disabled people, refugees and migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, LGBTQ+ communities, young and older people, and women facing multiple disadvantages.
Flexible core funding
The grants provide flexible core funding over three or five years, intended to give organisations the stability to invest in their people, strengthen leadership and build resilience. As well as funding City Bridge Foundation will support the charities by bringing them together “to share learning and develop partnerships”.
Investing in community power
Paul Martinelli, chair of the City Bridge Foundation Board, commented:
“We are delighted to be supporting 20 remarkable organisations that are deeply rooted in the communities they serve. Through this funding, we are investing not only in vital frontline services, but also in the community leadership, partnerships and collective action needed to drive lasting systems change across London.”
The awards form part of City Bridge Foundation’s wider commitment to tackling inequality in London, and the multi-year, unrestricted nature of the grants will be of particular interest to fundraisers arguing the case for flexible core funding.
- City Bridge Foundation announces social justice fund in new 10-year funding policy (26 March 2025)
- City Bridge Foundation marks giving £895 million over 30 years (18 May 2026)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.