Over 200 charities battling inflation and high demand for services as winter begins to bite have been handed an early Christmas present from London’s biggest independent funder.
For the second year running, City Bridge Foundation is providing additional support in the form of unrestricted grants to many of the organisations it has funded for over 18 months.
The support is expected to amount to around £437,000 and to benefit over 200 charities which were awarded grants before May last year.
It is aimed at mitigating higher than expected inflation after that date, which peaked at 11.1 per cent in October last year and currently stands at 4.6 per cent.
The funding, to be awarded at the rate of six per cent of the value of the original grant, follows a similar award last year in which 350 charities shared £1.2 million.
Paul Martinelli, City Bridge Foundation Grants Committee Chairman, said:
“Although inflation has come down considerably since last year, the cumulative effect means it’s taken a big chunk out of the value of grants awarded to many of the organisations we fund.
“This funding will go some way towards preserving the original intended value of grants, at a time when charities are continuing to see very high demand for their services, which is likely to increase in the months ahead due to the onset of winter.
“The fact these grants are unrestricted means charities can channel it to wherever the need is greatest, whether that’s paying their fuel bills or staff costs, or directly into projects making a difference to the lives of people in their communities.”
A total of 231 organisations are eligible for support, subject to the review of individual awards by funding managers.
Funded organisations will receive a letter offering funding under the scheme before Christmas, with payments to follow early in the New Year.
