We’re making some changes to what we’ll fund. In this update our grants directors Klara Skrivankova and Rebekah Delsol explain what this means for groups applying to us.
Last year we launched our 2030 funding strategy, setting out our vision for the London we want to see: a fairer city where poverty and inequality no longer hold people back. A year on, we’re making some changes to what work we will fund.
From now on, we’ll focus our resources on work that tackles the root causes of poverty. This means we’ll no longer fund projects that only support individuals, like advice or service delivery work. We’ll still fund work that connects advice directly to longer term and wider change - for example, through strategic legal action or campaigns that shift policy and practice.
... we’re focusing our resources on the reasons poverty persists, to break the cycle of policies and practices that create need and constant firefighting.
We know this is difficult news for some of our funded partners. Many organisations have relied on our support for frontline work, particularly over the past five years. We increased our funding in those areas during the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis because that was what Londoners urgently needed. But it’s not possible for us to carry on funding crisis support at this level.
Why we’re making this change
Our mission has always been clear: to end poverty and build a fairer London. But with limited resources, we have to use our money where it will make a lasting difference.
Like many funders, our endowment has been affected by the economic climate. This, combined with the fact that we stepped up our supporting during the pandemic and following years, means we have less money available to give out. At the same time, the need in London has not reduced.
While addressing immediate need is important, it often becomes a revolving door because the underlying societal issues remain unchanged. That’s why we’re focusing our resources on the reasons poverty persists, to break the cycle of policies and practices that create need and constant firefighting. To see lasting change we need to invest in solutions that stop poverty from recurring.
What we mean by long-term change
Millions of Londoners are struggling not because of individual choices, but because of how our society is structured. By long-term change, we mean funding work that shifts the policies, practices and narratives that keep people in poverty.
That could be:
- Supporting new ideas and models that challenge unfair systems and build alternatives.
- Backing sustained campaigns that change policy.
- Funding advice work that directly links with broader policy advocacy.
We know this kind of change takes time. Positive impacts may be slow and harder to measure than service delivery. But it is the best chance we have to tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality.
Our priorities remain the same
Our seven priority areas - tackling the housing crisis, ending the poverty premium, decent work, improving social security, ending migrant destitution*, racial justice and disability justice – remain unchanged. What changes is the sort of work we will fund within them.
You can find more details about what we’ll fund in each area on our website, along with impact stories that illustrate the type of work we want to support.
Looking ahead
We don’t make this shift lightly and that this will be challenging for some of our funded partners.
But we are clear that focusing on long-term change is the only way to create the London we all want to see – a fairer city, where everyone has the chance to succeed, no matter who they are. We are committed to working with partners across the capital to help make that vision a reality.
This won’t affect any current grants. If you have any questions about your current grant, please reach out to your grant manager.
* Please note: our migration priority is currently closed to applications while we review how best to prioritise our resources in the current hostile climate. We will provide an update shortly.