Mayor announces £1m fund to support community-led organisations

• £1m fund will provide grants to help community-led organisations who help Londoners impacted by inequalities
• The grants of between £1,000 and £50,000 will provide much needed help improve their reach and impact across 10 London boroughs
• The programme will enable organisations to increase collaboration, commission research, recruit new staff, and invest in the resources they need to support communities

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced a new £1m fund to support community-led organisations who help Londoners impacted by inequalities.

The Civil Society Roots programme will provide grants of between £1,000 and £50,000 to help a wide range of organisations improve the reach and impact of their work to make London a fairer city.

The grants will allow these organisations to increase collaboration, commission research, recruit new staff, and invest in the resources they need to support communities, including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Londoners, disabled Londoners, LGBTQ+ Londoners, women and older Londoners.

We know that inequalities worsened as a result of Covid and previous rounds of the Civil Society Roots programme - which is a partnership between City Hall and the City of London Corporation’s charity funder, City Bridge Trust - focused on supporting Londoners most affected by the pandemic. The third round of the programme is designed to support organisations who help Londoners who are persistently disadvantaged in all major areas of life, including education, the labour market, housing, the environment, criminal justice, culture and health.

Research1 commissioned by City Hall identified 10 London boroughs – Bromley, Enfield, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Newham, Redbridge, Sutton, and Wandsworth - where this funding and accompanying programme of support will have the most impact, targeting the communities that need it most.

To strengthen the impact that this funding will have, community groups will also be invited to build partnerships with organisations with similar aims, and work collaboratively to identify shared priorities for their community and local area.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “During the pandemic, we have seen the amazing response of communities, who have worked tirelessly to support each other, through food provision, mental health support, the incredible roll out of the vaccination programme, and much more. I am delighted that City Hall has joined forces with the City Bridge Trust to design a programme to better support and nurture community-led groups in the capital. If we are to make real change and ensure that every Londoner has the chance to thrive and reach their potential, then it is critical that we all continue to work together to address inequalities.”

Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice, Dr Debbie Weekes Bernard said:“The pandemic has brought to the forefront of public consciousness the essential and often unsung work communities deliver every day to support us all. It has shown us how connected we are to each other, and how we all have a role to play in keeping each other safe. However, it has also deepened the structural inequalities many Londoners face and has disproportionately impacted a number of groups. The Civil Society Roots programme will help support London to thrive economically, build resilience, and provide fundamental support to communities and Londoners most in need.”

Chairman of the City Corporation’s charity funder, City Bridge Trust, Giles Shilson, said: "London may be the biggest contributor to the national economy, but it still has the highest poverty rate of all England’s regions.

“We are proud of London’s community groups who are supporting the city’s diverse populations on the front line of the pandemic.

“This funding will directly support those Londoners most in need, cut inequality and tackle disadvantage across the capital.”

This new Civil Society Roots programme builds on the work of an initial programme, which supported five specialist organisations to strengthen and develop their offers of support; and the Civil Society Roots Incubator programme, which supported 22 new or existing community-led partnerships with funding to test collaborative ways of working, helping ensure their organisations’ sustainability. It is a key component of the Mayor’s Building Strong Communities Mission which aims to ensure that by 2025 all Londoners will have access to a community hub where they can volunteer, get support and build strong community networks.