GrantRadar

City Bridge Foundation

Communities Building Economic Change (Economic Justice Round One)

Core and flexible five-year grants of £150,000 to £450,000 for small- and medium-sized, community-rooted organisations in London (annual income £50,000 to £1.5 million) that run frontline services for communities experiencing economic injustice and use what they learn to work for longer-term, systemic change. It is the first round of City Bridge Foundation's Economic Justice programme, with three priorities: building shared understanding of the economy, securing the basics everyone needs, and giving communities more power. About 20-25 grants are expected; applicants need a two-year track record of this systemic work, and funded organisations take part in the programme's learning and convening activities.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£150,000 – £450,000
Closes in
16 days left
3 November
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Small- to medium-sized organisations with an annual income between £50,000 and £1.5 million (from your most recent signed accounts; book a pre-application call if that does not reflect your scale) delivering work that benefits people in one or more of the 32 London boroughs and/or the City of London
  • Eligible types: UK-registered charities, CIOs, charitable companies, charitable industrial and provident societies, charitable community benefit societies (BenComs), CICs limited by guarantee with at least three directors, and constituted voluntary organisations applying through a fiscal host (the host is the named applicant, holds the grant and supplies the financial documents)
  • You must: be deeply rooted in communities experiencing high levels of economic injustice (community representation in decision-making and leadership, lived experience shaping the work, ongoing accountability - one-off consultation is not enough); provide frontline or meeting-needs services such as food provision or advice; already use that frontline insight to inform work in one or more of the three priorities, with at least two years' track record; and be willing to take part in connecting and learning activities
  • You also need at least three directors or trustees, at least one year of audited or independently examined accounts (CICs may give unaudited accounts where Companies House allows), an up-to-date safeguarding policy, and to pay the London Living Wage (£14.80 an hour from April 2026) to all London-based staff or commit to doing so
  • Organisations giving formal advice must hold appropriate accreditation such as the Advice Quality Standard
  • One application per organisation (alone or in a partnership with one lead organisation)
  • Current City Bridge grant holders may apply but new or recently unfunded organisations may be prioritised; those with long-term core funding (e.g. Access to Justice or Propel) are unlikely to be prioritised

What it funds

Core and flexible funding that can cover all activities an organisation delivers, including frontline support and work towards longer-term change within the three funding priorities. These costs may include, but are not limited to:

  • Core costs, such as staff salaries, wellbeing, training, overheads and infrastructure
  • Programme activity, including frontline service provision and the use of insights to inform social action and systems-change work, such as community organising, advocacy, campaigning, and drawing on frontline experience to influence policy and practice
  • Organisational development, including time for reflection, learning and adaptation
  • Collaboration and movement-building, including connecting with other organisations, sharing insights, building collective power, or participating in City Bridge Foundation's convening activities

Grants are fixed amounts over five years: £150,000 (£30,000 a year), £200,000 (£40,000 a year), £300,000 (£60,000 a year) or £450,000 (£90,000 a year). You indicate a preferred amount and the final amount is agreed at Stage 2.

The three funding priorities are: building shared understanding of the economy (and what needs to change); securing the basics everyone needs; giving communities more power.

What it will not fund

  • Organisations that wish to begin economic justice work in the future but are not yet doing it, or cannot show a two-year track record
  • Organisations that focus only on services, advice or meeting immediate needs without using those insights to inform systemic change
  • Work delivered outside London or for people living elsewhere
  • Work that duplicates or replaces statutory services
  • Capital costs
  • Vehicles
  • Non-charitable activities
  • Retrospective costs
  • Individuals
  • Schools or PTAs
  • Statutory bodies, such as local authorities, hospitals, educational establishments and prisons
  • Political parties
  • Charities established or registered outside the UK
  • Community Interest Companies (CIC) limited by shares
  • Private organisations limited by guarantee
  • Profit-making organisations (except social enterprises)

How to apply

  1. Read the downloadable Funding Guidelines and the programme page, and check your work fits one or more of the three funding priorities
  2. Watch the recording of the pre-application webinar (held 15 September 2026) and read the FAQs
  3. Complete the 10-question Eligibility Checker on the programme page; if eligible, its last question links to the Application Portal
  4. Optionally book a 15-minute pre-application phone call through the website (book by 5pm on Tuesday 27 October 2026; calls run 25 September to 29 October 2026)
  5. Create an account on the Application Portal and complete the online form (organisation details, safeguarding, finance, contact information, about your application, DEI data, declaration), uploading the supporting documents
  6. Submit by 12 noon on Tuesday 3 November 2026
  7. If shortlisted at Stage 1 (notified by 11 January 2027), take part in a Stage 2 conversation and visit with the funding team (by the end of February 2027)

A Word sample application form is available to draft offline, but applications are accepted only through the portal. For an alternative format or accessibility support, contact funding@citybridgefoundation.org.uk or 020 7332 3710.

Have ready

  • Governing document or constitution (current version with amendments; Memorandum and Articles where relevant; CICs their Articles; BenComs their registered rules)
  • Current safeguarding policy (more than one document if you have separate policies for children and adults at risk)
  • Most recent signed accounts
  • Most recent management accounts (the latest internal finance report reviewed by your trustees or directors)

If applying through a fiscal host, upload the host's governing document, accounts and safeguarding policy. Church of England bodies do not need a governing document and should attach a note saying so.

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