The Funding Committee of the City Bridge Foundation Board convened to discuss financial updates, funding activity, and the progress of various initiatives, including LocalMotion and Standing with Londoners. The committee also reviewed grant approvals, rejections, and variations made under delegated authority.

Here's a breakdown of the key items from the report pack:

LocalMotion Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on LocalMotion, a collaborative funding effort involving multiple UK foundations, including the City Bridge Foundation (CBF). The initiative focuses on addressing structural injustices in towns and cities across the UK by promoting place-based change and empowering communities.

The report highlighted LocalMotion's four key principles:

• Relationship building
• Resource shifting
• Power sharing
• Collective learning

The CBF has committed £5 million to LocalMotion over seven years (2024-2031), with funds being allocated to Enfield, ensuring London benefits from the scheme.

The report pack stated that LocalMotion aims to bridge the gap between national policy and lived experience, enabling communities and institutions to collaborate for change. For example, LocalMotion Enfield launched its Enfield LX project, a platform for people with lived experience of mental health issues to influence mental health service provision in Enfield.

The report pack also noted that care-experienced young people in Enfield are leading strategic engagement with the council and are scheduled to meet with the Children's Minister, Josh McAllister, to discuss foster care reform.

The report pack stated that LocalMotion has invested in a learning infrastructure to support impactful change processes, including a learning framework and toolkit, a Deep in Place and Practice (DiPP) offer, and local listening events.

The report pack stated that LocalMotion has witnessed council officers move from scepticism to a keenness to engage and support the development of community led housing.

The report pack also detailed how CBF is learning from LocalMotion, including:

Empowering local voices: LocalMotion creates equitable opportunities for community participation, ensuring voices from underrepresented groups are heard...

Collaborative approach: The partnership models a new style of collaboration between funders, communities, and organisations, moving away from traditional power dynamics.

Investing in people: LocalMotion prioritises leadership development and cross-sector learning beyond project timelines.

Budget Monitoring Report

The Funding Committee was scheduled to review a report providing a financial update on CBF funding activities for the period from 1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025, along with an updated forecast for the financial year ending 31 March 2026.

CBF Funding's approved expenditure budget is £46.7 million, comprising £42.2 million for grant commitments, £4.2 million for operational costs, and £0.3 million for central recharges. The revised grants commitments forecast for the year is £50.1 million.

According to the report pack, at the end of September 2025, grant commitments were £15.2 million against the year-to-date budget of £17.2 million, with the variance of £2 million due to Bridging Divides applications still being processed.

The report pack stated that Propel is projected to have £17.6 million commitments in 2025/26, with the bulk being the £16.1 million grant awarded to Collaboration Circle.

The report pack also noted that Strategic Transition Awards of £10 million are forecasted to begin in quarter three of 2025/26.

Grant Funding Activity

The Funding Committee was scheduled to receive a report detailing funds approved and rejected under delegated authority since the last meeting in September, the remaining 2025/26 grants budget, grants spend to date, and any grant variations approved.

According to the report pack, 144 grants have been awarded from the main grants programmes to date in 2025/26, with a net grant spend of £36.1 million. This leaves a remaining budget for grant spend for 2025/26 at £7.1 million.

The report pack stated that final awards have now been made under Bridging Divides main programmes, with approximately £15.8 million committed in relation to applications received before the programmes under this policy were closed.

Funds Approved Under Delegated Authority

The Funding Committee was scheduled to be informed of funds approved under delegated authority and urgency procedures from 18 August 2025 to 10 November 2025. These included:

• £157,200 to Action Breaks Silence towards salaries of two part-time Youth Expert Lead Trainers and delivery costs of a VAWG programme co-led by young people.
• £100,000 to Action for Race Equality to extend its Routes2Success programme, delivering tailored mentoring and youth-led action for Black, Asian and ethnic minority young people in London.
• £264,751 to Active Successful Engagement (ASÉ) CIC towards the i MATTER: Voices of Strength Programme, covering 2x 0.2FTE facilitators and other running costs.
• £198,220 to African Women's Care towards the salary of 1.0 FTE Specialist Mental Health Advocate, workshops, training, administration and a contribution towards core costs to enable provision of culturally sensitive mental health advocacy and oversee voluntary mental health support for African women survivors of domestic abuse.
• £149,936 to Alford House to contribute to capital works to enhance accessibility and the environmental sustainability of Alford House's facilities.
• £120,000 to Centre for Justice Innovation to contribute to the running of the charity's Community Advice, a service available to court users attending Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court, covering a portion of staff and associated delivery costs.
• £298,900 to Claudia Jones Organisation towards two Service Manager posts.
• £124,392 to Deafblind UK Disability Advice towards Deafblind UK's 'Getting on, not Getting By' initiative which will provide skills and knowledge to deafblind Londoners to enable them to be better equipped to transition into volunteering, training or employment.
• £276,961 to Service Lambeth to cover the staff costs of a full-time welfare benefits caseworker to meet the need from Disabled people in Lambeth to maximise their income.
• £281,080 to Freightliners Farm Limited towards the Farm Manager salary (1FTE) and other associated costs.
• £131,189 to Hillingdon Foodbank for the salary of the project co ordinator, and contribution towards overheads, running and volunteer costs to deliver the work of the foodbank.
• £20,000 to Impact Investing Institute for the Institute's programme championing investment for racial justice outcomes.
• £112,330 to InterAct Stroke Support towards InterAct Stroke Support's work with stroke survivors in London.
• £206,144 to Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) for a contribution towards 0.3 FTE salaries from the Legal, Advocacy and Communications teams; direct costs including training, advocacy and campaigning actions and events; project costs including IT and systems; and operational overheads, to provide legal advice and holistic support to people in London most marginalised by the immigration system and turn knowledge of the issues they face into powerful campaigns.
• £112,000 to Justice and Care to contribute to the costs of a Women and Girls Victim Navigator role (1FTE), associated training and delivery expenditure, and a portion of overheads.
• £171,278 to KCAH towards the salary and management costs of a specialist housing adviser post.
• £14,000 as a development grant to Locality to understand how best to deliver a programme of enterprise support to CBF's funded organisations and for Locality to put forward a proposal for this.
• £230,000 to Money A+E UK Community Interest Company towards the third year of the Grow Your Own Advice programme, supporting 30 trainees from 12 VCSE organisations with accredited training, placement support, and part-time paid roles (1 day/week) for five newly qualified advisers, contributing to a more equitable and sustainable advice workforce in London.
• £169,100 to Place At My Table for a Propel Expand grant to strengthen and expand the Where Rivers Meet Network (WRMN) among small local grassroots Global majority-led organisations in Sutton to initiate community campaigns, actively participate in local governance, transform power structures and challenge systemic racial inequities.
• £268,000 to Plumstead Community Law Centre for a Senior Immigration Solicitor to provide free legal advice services in Greenwich, alongside the provision of awareness raising for Greenwich's wider community and voluntary sector.
• £248,940 to Rights of Women towards Rights of Women's work to increase access to justice for women in London. Funding covers contributions to Senior Legal Officer (0.6 FTE), Director (0.1 FTE), Core Team Support (0.1 FTE) and 10% associated organisational overheads.
• £3,200 to Surplus To Supper CIO to provide an eco audit.
• £110,230 to Synergy Theatre Project towards core costs including contributions towards salaries, admin and overheads.
• £60,000 to Together Arts Productions CIC towards the salary of the 'Participation Producer' (0.6 FTE) overseeing the work and participation of both the 'Sing for Freedom Choir' and 'Mixed Up Chorus'.
• £297,500 to User Voice towards the User Voice Hub enabling people leaving prison and serving community sentences to be supported and to volunteer in the community.
• £281,749 to Voyage towards the appointment of a Head of Programmes to coordinate key activities alongside materials and resources to facilitate the launch, iterative improvement and scaling of the HyPE program.
• £461,900 to West London Equality Centre towards a Head of Hate Crime role (1 FTE), events, volunteer expenses, monitoring & evaluation and other project costs, plus support costs, to deliver a Hate Crime project across outer West London.
• £116,000 to Young Ladies Club towards the recruitment, salary and oncosts of a full-time Domestic Abuse Officer, associated delivery costs and contribution to overheads.
• £16,160,015 to Collaboration Circle.

Grant Rejections

The Funding Committee was also scheduled to be informed of grant rejections approved under delegated authority. These included:

• £225,000 from Trees for Cities
• £141,000 from Locality

Grant Variations

The Funding Committee was scheduled to note variations to grants that have been agreed by the Acting Managing Director of CBF, the Chief Funding Director or a Funding Director. These included:

• A revocation of £1,000 from Katherine Low Settlement
• An uplift of £1,000 to Katherine Low Settlement
• A revocation of £200 from St Augustine's, Colindale
• A revocation of £3,398 from The Leaside Trust
• An uplift of £10,000 to The Cranfield Trust
• A revocation of £180 from Osmani Trust

Chief Funding Director's Update Report

The Funding Committee was scheduled to receive an update report from the CBF Chief Funding Director, Sacha Rose, on key areas of activity. The report covered funding updates on Access to Justice, Communities for Children, Strategic Transition Awards, the transition portfolio, Propel/Collaboration Circle, Anchor, social investment and social enterprise development. It also included EDI updates on racially equitable investment, the racial justice community of practice, and the racial justice audit of grants, as well as impact and learning updates covering the progress of the service design and end-to-end review, the learning programme for the team and operations.

The report pack stated that the first round of the Access to Justice (ATJ) programme was soft launched on CBF's website in late October, followed by formal launch on 10 November. It is expected that CBF will make 20-25 awards in this initial round, with awards being made in early 26/27.

The report pack also noted that officers are progressing work on wider Standing with Londoners roll out an implementation for 2026/2027, distributing £25 million.

The report pack stated that the December 2023 Funding Committee and March 2024 Board approved a £1.09 million award over four years to BBC Children in Need to support the London delivery of Communities for Children (formerly the Child Poverty Impact Model).

The report pack stated that the September 2025 Funding Committee agreed to reserve up to £10 million for a programme of Strategic Transition Awards (STAs) supporting the sector for the period between the closure of Bridging Divides and the full opening of Standing with Londoners.

The report pack noted that final grant agreements between City Bridge Foundation and Collaboration Circle were in place at the end of September 2025. Assessments for the first Cohort of Long-Term Grants took place during the autumn, with the Propel Funding Committee approving grants to 11 organisations to the value of £10.2 million.

The report pack stated that as of September 2025, CBF has committed approximately £7.07 million, representing 32% of its social investment allocation, with a portion of this capital still subject to legal completion.

The report pack also noted that the £2 million pilot programme of enterprise grants and support approved at September's Board and Funding Committee meetings and being delivered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, remains open for applications to London VCSEs until mid-December.

The report pack stated that CBF agreed a £20,000 contribution towards the costs of work done by the Impact Investing Institute on racially equitable investment.

The report pack also noted that CBF took part in this year's Funders for Race Equality Audit (Audit 5) and will be part of the results that they will soon publish.

Outstanding Actions

The committee was scheduled to receive a report of the Town Clerk, and note a list of outstanding actions and updates.