Social investment charity Pure Leapfrog has received £49,000 to help with London’s transition to a low carbon economy.

The funding has been awarded through the City of London Corporation’s charitable funders, City Bridge Trust’s, Stepping Stones Fund, a social investment readiness scheme in partnership with UBS.

The charity will use the grant to develop a new Community Energy Fund for London. Once established, funding will be given to groups* working to tackle fuel poverty and climate change through community energy. Funding will be for initiatives such as installing renewable energy and eco-efficiency solutions at a local community scale.

The scheme will reduce the number of people struggling to keep their home properly heated. It is estimated that over 300,000 London households are experiencing this struggle with the problems affecting older people disproportionately.

The charity’s mission is to ensure that community energy becomes a significant part of the sustainable energy mix in the UK.

Over £600,000 has been awarded to support 16 charitable organisations across the capital looking to get their foot on the ladder of the social investment market through the latest round of Stepping Stones.

Grantees range from projects looking to protect the environment and tackle climate change to community initiatives designed to strengthen local employment skills and education.

This brings the total awards given to £2,802,100 to 65 organisations since the launch of the fund in 2015.

Claire Hanratty, CEO of grantee Pure Leapfrog, said:

“With CBT’s support we will build a fund that underpins the growth of community energy in London.

“Renewable energy built and owned by communities delivers on the need for London to grow its renewable energy base and helps to address fuel poverty, which affects a significant portion of London’s population.

“Doing this through community groups also helps build resilient, connected communities.” **

Alison Gowman, Chairman of City Bridge Trust, commented:

“Pure Leapfrog is on a mission to make significant change- protecting the environment and really promoting renewable energy.

“It is fantastic we are able to support such an innovative initiative tackling climate change. This funding will allow the charity to move forward with its visions and make substantial progress with its social investment scheme.

“City Bridge Trust is committed to tackling disadvantage across the capital and making London a fairer and better place to live.”

London’s biggest independent grant giver, City Bridge Trust, and UBS launched the Stepping Stones Fund over two years ago to support charities and social enterprises in London who want to access the social investment market. Funding helps organisations develop their ideas, bring in new technical help and get products ready for market. Stepping Stones encourages more of London’s charitable organisations and social enterprises to look how social investment might support their work.

The success of Stepping Stones Fund is underpinned by a strong partnership between City Bridge Trust and UBS. It is an exciting and effective combination of the Trust’s grant making expertise, and the skills and insights of UBS’ volunteers. The role that the non-profit and private sectors play in working towards the public good is ever more important in the age of a shrinking state.

City Bridge Trust makes grants totalling around £20 million per year towards charitable activity benefitting Greater London.

The charitable funder has awarded more than 7,700 grants totalling over £370 million since it first began in 1995. It helps achieve the City Corporation’s aim of changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Londoners

More information on http://www.citybridgetrust.org.uk/stepping-stones-fund

ENDS

About UBS

UBS provides financial advice and solutions to wealthy, institutional and corporate clients worldwide, as well as private clients in Switzerland. The operational structure of the Group is comprised of our Corporate Centre and five business divisions: Wealth Management, Wealth Management Americas, Personal & Corporate Banking, Asset Management and the Investment Bank. UBS's strategy builds on the strengths of all of its businesses and focuses its efforts on areas in which it excels, while seeking to capitalize on the compelling growth prospects in the businesses and regions in which it operates, in order to generate attractive and sustainable returns for its shareholders. All of its businesses are capital-efficient and benefit from a strong competitive position in their targeted markets.

Notes to editors:

*In the form of grants and low cost credit.

**The initiative is designed to support the GLA’s recently announced Environment, Fuel Poverty and Solar Strategies.

Full list of grantees:

Age UK East London £45,000

Causeway Irish Housing Association £40,000

Family Action £46,000

Four Corners £37,000

Khulisa £28,500

London Play £20,000

London Youth Support Trust £10,000

Longfield Hall Trust £29,500

Migrant Helpline £45,000

Naked House £45,000

Pure Leapfrog £49,000

St Michaels Fellowship £39,000

Streets of Growth £49,000

Teens and Toodlers £40,000

Trees for Cities £45,000

Women’s Aid £49,000

Media Enquiries

Kristina Drake

Media Officer, City of London Corporation

Kristina.Drake@cityoflondon.gov.uk

07710860884 / 020 7332 1125