Top 10 Grant Opportunities for Charities in London
We have put together a list of our favourite London grant funding opportunities for charities working in London. Take a look and see if your Charity could benefit.
Total grant-making through different kinds of charitable trusts and foundations has been estimated at £6.5 billion in the UK. This figure demonstrates the huge value of trusts and foundations as a vehicle for supporting social good (Foundation Giving Trends, 2018).
According to the Charity Commission (2020) there are 6040 registered charities in London; the largest concentration of charities in the UK. We have therefore sent our team on a mission to find the best grant opportunities for you in 2020. From that, we present you a list of some of the top funding opportunities in London right now.
The City Bridge Trust The primary objective of Bridge House Estates is the maintenance and support of five of the bridges that cross the Thames into or by the City of London. In 1995 a scheme was agreed by the Charity Commission which enabled the trustees to use the charity’s surplus income, for charitable purposes benefitting the inhabitants of Greater London. This currently, amounts to around £20 million each year and City Bridge is now one of the largest providers of London grant funding to charities in the capital, focussing on reducing inequality and building more resilient communities.
https://www.citybridgetrust.org.uk/
Trust for London Funding of up to £150,000 for work that develops new and imaginative ways of addressing the root causes of London’s social problems, especially work which has the potential to influence and change policy, practice and public attitudes. Funding is available under a number of streams including: Good Homes and Neighbourhoods; and Stronger Voices.
The London Family Fund Groundwork is working with the Greater London Authority to deliver the London Family Fund programme. The Mayor of London is offering £600,000 over three years to improve social networks, reduce isolation and bring children and families together. The London Family Fund provides grants of up to £85,000 to innovative projects that promote social integration in London.
https://glagrants.org.uk/home/london-families-fund/
The London Marathon Charitable Trust – The London Marathon Charitable Trust has announced that it will make £5m available for charities to buy, build or renovate facilities for physical activity in London and Surrey. The trust will give grants of anything between £5,000-£20,000 under their Small Grants Programme and £20,001-£150,000 for the Major Grants Programme.
Fishmongers Company Charitable Trust As with most Livery Companies, the charity supports education and other charities. The charity currently makes grants of between £15,000 and £50,000 for the following: Education in prisons, mental health and food and nutrition. There is a preference for charities operating within the City of London and the Boroughs of Camden, Hackney, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets or Westminster.
The Merchant Taylors Company Charities Fund Grants are made to range of charities with a focus on those operating in inner London and the boroughs of Lewisham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Hackney. The company has recently expanded in how much it is able to give: last year awarding grants of more than £500,000. The majority of grant are for up to £10,000, but larger grants are awarded.
https://www.merchant-taylors.co.uk/philanthropy/foundation
The Drapers Charitable Fund The Fund supports registered charities in London for a range of charitable purposes. Grants are normally awarded for sums up to £15,000, but larger grants may be awarded.
London Catalyst The charity makes grants to assist the work of charities, voluntary and community organisations, social work and health agencies operating in Greater London (within the M25). It particularly targets health inequalities and poverty in areas of social deprivation. Each year around £300,000 is available in grants.
https://www.londoncatalyst.org.uk/
London Freemasons Charity The Metropolitan Masonic Charity seeks to address any general charitable needs in the area of London ‘and in particular (but without restriction) the relief of need of poverty or distress or the advancement of education’.
https://www.londonmasons.org.uk/charity
John Lyons Charity
The charity is now one of the largest local educational charities in the country, making grants to benefit children and young people up to the age of 25 who live in Barnet, Brent, Camden, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Kensington and Chelsea, the City of London and the City of Westminster. In 2018, the charity distributed grants valuing £10,000,000.
Hopefully some of these London grant funding opportunities will support you in securing new grant income. If you are looking for more opportunities matched specifically to your cause then our Funder Prospect Research Service may be just what you are looking for. You may also be interested in our Trust Fundraising Service.
