Organisations which support frontline charities helping to make London a fairer place can bid for a share of a multi-million pound programme offering long-term core funding.

City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation’s charity funder, has launched the Anchor Programme, offering grants of between £50,000 and £150,000 a year for seven to 10 years.

It is aimed at second-tier organisations which have embedded equitable practice in their work and are tackling marginalisation among people with one or more protected characteristics such as race, sexuality, gender or disability.

Co-designed with civil society organisations, it aims to provide the space and financial security the sector needs to deliver on long-term partnerships to tackle systemic inequality.

City Bridge Trust Chairman Giles Shilson said:

“We know from speaking to infrastructure charities that they often have to devote so much time and energy to securing funding for specific projects that they don’t have much capacity for strategic, long-term collaborative work.

“This long-term core funding will give organisations that support those working on London’s frontline the breathing space they need to collaborate, take risks and create systemic change.

“It will enable ‘anchor’ organisations – those that create a collective voice, build capacity and advocate for smaller charities – to work across the sector to address the marginalisation and discrimination that still blight our society.”

The fund opens to expressions of interest on Monday, 17 April and these must be submitted by 11pm on Monday, 8 May.

People can find more information and apply online at www.citybridgetrust.org.uk/funding/the-anchor-programme

The City of London Corporation’s charity funder, City Bridge Trust, is London’s biggest independent grant giver. It awards grants of over £30 million a year to tackle disadvantage across the capital.

It has also made an extra £200 million available over five years from 2021 to 2026 to support London’s charity sector – www.citybridgetrust.org.uk

Notes to editors

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

The City Corporation is the sole trustee of Bridge Houses Estates, a charity founded over 900 years ago to maintain London Bridge, and Members of its Court of Common Council form the Bridge House Estates Board.

Bridge House Estates is today responsible for maintaining Tower, London, Southwark, Millennium and Blackfriars Bridges. Its grants team, City Bridge Trust – founded in 1995 – awards over £30 million a year to good causes across the capital.

It has also made an extra £200 million available over five years from 2021 to 2026 to support London’s charity sector – www.citybridgetrust.org.uk

 Tim Fletcher | Media officer – public services
City of London Corporation
07738 862229 | tim.fletcher@cityoflondon.gov.uk