Hounslow is the latest London borough to launch a community giving scheme, boosted by £60,000 from the capital’s largest independent grant giver.

City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation’s charitable funder, awarded the grant to Ealing Community and Voluntary Service (Ealing CVS) to develop Hounslow Giving, as part of London’s Giving network of place-based giving schemes.

Ealing CVS will work on the initiative with Hounslow Giving Steering group to bring together hundreds of community groups and organisations to work as one on their volunteering and charitable efforts.

Place-based giving initiatives are founded on the premise that ‘everyone can give’, bringing businesses, funders and individuals together with schools, universities and volunteers from all walks of life, to work with charities.

These initiatives aim to create stronger communities by maximising their local assets, based on the evidence of need, and are now having a positive effect in 20 boroughs, including Lewisham, Hackney, Camden, and Hammersmith & Fulham.

Each one is tailored to local need and the challenges of their boroughs, helping small local charities play to their strengths and make the most possible impact.

The £60,000 from City Bridge Trust will be used to fund the post of a Development Officer to initiate the scheme, launching in April 2019.

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

“Over the last 30 years, Ealing CVS has successfully supported local voluntary and community action so, by joining this initiative, it will make use of its considerable experience and reap the benefits.

“For the capital’s boroughs to perform most effectively, we need to engage small local charities in the community vision. Place-based giving schemes, which bring people and resources together, are the future for local communities.

“City Bridge Trust is committed to making London a fairer place to work and live in.”

Andy Roper, Chief Executive, Ealing Community and Voluntary Service, said:

“This funding from City Bridge Trust is fantastic news, because it will help us make a tangible difference in the community.

“Working with our partners in Hounslow Council, Hounslow Community Network, Inspire Hounslow, Volunteering Hounslow and Hounslow Chamber of Commerce, our new Hounslow Giving project will have a significant impact upon fundraising for local community projects.

“It will also increase volunteering and develop better links between local businesses and local voluntary groups in Hounslow.”

City Bridge Trust is the funding arm of the City of London Corporation’s charity, Bridge House Estates. It is London’s biggest independent grant giver, making grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantage across the capital.

The Trust has awarded around 7,900 grants totalling over £380 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.

ENDS 

Media enquiries:

Andrew Buckingham

Media Officer, City of London Corporation

andrew.buckingham@cityoflondon.gov.uk

020 7332 1452

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.