42 London charities including those supporting young crime victims, homeless LGBT+ people and refugees with their mental health will receive a record £6.3m funding windfall.

City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation’s charity funder, which approved the payout, says it is the biggest amount of money it has ever given in a single funding round.

City Bridge Trust gives £20 million a year to charities fighting inequality and disadvantage across the capital. It has now awarded over 8,000 grants totalling over £400 million since it first began in 1995.

Charity grants in the record funding round included:

• £48,800 to Embrace Child Victims of Crime to provide practical and emotional support for young victims of crime. The charity is dealing with rising demand for its London-based services.
• £60,000 to the Albert Kennedy Trust to help young homeless LGBT+ people off the streets and into accommodation, transforming their lives.
• £79,200 to the British Refugee Council to provide counselling and psychotherapy support for asylum seekers and refugees with their mental health.
• £132,000 to Prison Advice Care and Trust to support women prisoners to build a better life for themselves after release.
• £147,000 to Advocacy in Greenwich to help young disabled people become more independent and ensure their voice is heard as they transition into adulthood.

Dhruv Patel, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust committee, said:

“This record funding will transform the lives of thousands of Londoners most in need.

“We want to help make the capital a safer place for young people, give a voice to those who are underrepresented, and cut the inequality which should not exist in this city.

“At a time when public finances are under significant strain, charities are plugging the gap and playing a major role in tackling disadvantage in London.

“By working together we can strengthen our communities and make this city a fairer place in which to work and live.”

Anne Campbell, Chief Executive of charity Embrace Child Victims of Crime, which provides support for young victims of crime, said:

“This funding enables us to support even more children and families impacted by serious crime across the capital, providing vital interventions to help them recover, brighten their lives and their life prospects.

“These are often the most vulnerable children and from low income households who, otherwise, would not have been able to access this kind of help.

“From gifts and trips, many children will go on to access therapy and we know our support works - children and young people gain confidence, self-worth and vital tools to help them cope into the future.”

City Bridge Trust is the funding arm of the City of London Corporation’s charity, Bridge House Estates, and London’s biggest independent grant giver.

ENDS

Media Enquiries

Kristina Drake

Media Officer, City of London Corporation

Kristina.Drake@cityoflondon.gov.uk

07710860884 / 020 7332 1125

Notes to editors

About the City of London Corporation:

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally successful UK.

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk 

About City Bridge Trust

City Bridge Trust is the funding arm of Bridge House Estates, a Registered Charity, with its primary aim the maintenance and support of five Thames bridges: Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark, Blackfriars and the Millennium footbridge.

City Bridge Trust was established in 1995 to make use of funds surplus to bridge requirements and provides grants totalling around £20m per year towards charitable activity benefitting Greater London. The City of London Corporation is the sole trustee of the Bridge House Estates.

Full list of grants:

Community Links Bromley £191,630

Body & Soul £60,000

CLIC Sargent £254,000

Ealing Law Centre £108,000

Latin American Women’s Rights Service £82,900

North Kensington Law Centre £100,000

Children England £279,520

Claremont Project £98,800

Covent Garden Dragon Hall Trust £66,000

Crafts Council £100,000

CREATE London £58,000

Headway East London £102,230

Irish Elderly Advice Network £150,000

Islington Boat Club £54,600

London Legal Support Trust £464,000

St Gabriel’s Parish House Trust £100,000

Stepney City Farm £191,800

Stratford Circus Arts Centre £72,000

The French Protestant Church of London £98,500

The Horse Rangers Association Limited £109,000

Young Barnet Foundation £200,000

Young Brent Foundation £200,000

Young Ealing Foundation £220,000

Young Harrow Foundation £200,000

Young Westminster Foundation £200,000

Advocacy in Greenwich £147,400

Albert Kennedy Trust £57,500

British Refugee Council £79,200

Centrepoint Soho £107,100

Embrace CVOC (Child Victims of Crime) £48,800

Evergreen Play Association Ltd £46,200

Islington Mind £181,200

Nafsiyat Intercultural Therapy Centre £66,000

Prison Advice and Care Trust £132,000

Shpresa Programme £52,000

St Clement and St James Community Development Project £95,000

Sycamore Trust U.K. £90,000

Trailblazers Mentoring Ltd £71,000

Waterloo Community Counselling £80,000

London Legal Support Trust £345,000

Participatory City Foundation £450,000

SEUK £200,000