Trust for London

London is deeply unequal. We want to see a fairer capital city, where everyone has a chance to succeed, no matter who they are.    To achieve this, we’ll fund organisations fighting for economic and social justice in our city.    *What we want to fund*    These two aims – economic and social justice - are the cornerstone of our strategy. Sitting under each of them are several priority areas, which set out what we want to fund over the next six years.    1/ Economic justice    Our economic justice funding aim is about ensuring Londoners on low incomes can afford a decent standard of living.     This means increasing people’s incomes & reducing their cost of living. Under our economic justice aim, we’ll fund work under 4 priority areas:    ▪️ Decent work  ▪️ Tackling the housing crisis  ▪️ Improving social security  ▪️ Ending the poverty premium    2/ Social jusice    Our social justice funding aim will focus on tackling injustices that lead to some Londoners being disproportionately affected by poverty.      Under our social justice aim, we’ll fund work across 3 priority areas:    ▪️ Ending migrant destitution  ▪️ Racial justice*  ▪️ Disability justice**    You can find out about these priority areas and the type of work we want to fund on our website.     Applications are open now (except for disability justice – see below), and we’re accepting applications on a rolling basis.    If you’re thinking about applying please make sure you read through our funding guidelines and book a call with us to discuss your ideas.    Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eH582mdT   --- *Racial justice works a little differently to our other funding priorities. After two successful open funding rounds, we’re being even more intentional about our funding. So although applications are open, make sure you read the relevant webpage, and speak to our racial justice lead.    **Disability justice applications are closed until 2025, following two open funding rounds from 2022-2024. 

Today is the United Nation's International Day of Person's with Disabilities. This year we were proud to award our second round of grants under the disability justice fund, providing over £1m to 14 projects across London. The theme of this year's #IDoPWD is "Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future", emphasising the slogan "Nothing about us without us." This embodies the work of so many of the organisations we fund under our disability justice work. All of the projects are led by Deaf and/or Disabled people in London. The projects and organisations range hugely – from inclusive arts organisations, to grassroots groups led by people with learning difficulties. Together they are working to diversify the disability sector and build the capacity of Deaf and Disabled people’s organisations to campaign for change. Flick through below to learn about the inspiring projects funded under our disability justice fund both this year and under our first round last year. And thank you to all of our funded partners, for all of the work you do! Disability Arts Online Candoco Dance Company ACT UP! NEWHAM C.I.C. Touretteshero Birthing Ourselves Deaf Unity National Survivor User Network Camden Disability Action Kingston Association for the Blind PEOPLE FIRST (SELF ADVOCACY) ADHD Babes ACTION DISABILITY KENSINGTON & CHELSEA ALLIANCE FOR INCLUSIVE EDUCATION Bromley Experts by Experience filmpro

This month, a landmark report from the Social Metrics Commission revealed that 27% of Londoners are in poverty. That’s 2.4 million people—double the population of Birmingham. And in the last year alone, another 100,000 Londoners were pushed into poverty. This reflects what we already know. Too many Londoners are in poverty, and the rate has been stubbornly high for decades. But a few months ago, we reported (using a different measure) that poverty in London has fallen to its lowest level on record. So what’s going on? Understanding poverty isn’t straightforward. Any single figure can only show us part of the story, and poverty statistics are only ever snapshots of a particular moment in time. In the UK, there are two main ways that poverty is measured: the UK poverty line, and the Social Metrics Commission’s poverty measure. Broadly speaking, the UK official poverty line is more straight forward. It looks only at incomes and housing costs. It doesn’t include many of the other unavoidable costs that push people into poverty - such as childcare. The SMC’s measure uses a much more complex methodology to incorporate these costs. At a glance, the two measures seem to be telling us different things. According to the official poverty statistics, poverty in London is going down. And the SMC tells us that, in complete contrast, it’s going up. But the longer term trend across both measures is largely the same: poverty in London is falling. By the official poverty line measure, it’s at its lowest on record. According to the SMC’s measure, poverty in London is at its lowest in two decades, excluding last year. We’d love to think this is a good thing – that hundreds of thousands of Londoners are being lifted out of poverty. But the reality around us tells us otherwise. Living costs are significantly higher than a few years ago. The housing crisis is as bad as ever. Low pay is still all too common. So why is poverty falling? Our current theory is that gentrification is forcing low-income Londoners out of the city in record numbers. We think that people on low incomes are being priced out London, and being replaced by people on higher incomes. The fact that London’s falling poverty rate is seen across two different measures tells us that something significant is happening. And if our theory is right, that means that London is at a tipping point – at risk of becoming a playground for only the very richest. It underscores the need for the government to take real and urgent action, particularly on the city’s housing crisis.

Looking for a new role in the charity sector? A few opportunities from our funded partners... 1/ Public Law Project, Communications & Engagement Director (1 Dec) - https://lnkd.in/ezqqZHSh 2/ High Trees Community Development Trust: ▪️ Senior Youth & Play Worker (5 Dec) ▪️ Head of Children, Young People & Families (8 Dec) https://lnkd.in/gYmGGCDm 3/ Living Wage Foundation / Citizens UK: ▪️ Research Manager (6 Dec) ▪️ Senior Media & Comms Manager (6 Dec) https://lnkd.in/dGPhbKF6 #CharityJobs #LondonJobs

Every month, vital new pieces of research are published by civil society. Together they help us to understand what's going on in our city, adding to the body of evidence on poverty and inequality in London & the UK and making the case for change. Here's a quick summary of 6⃣ new pieces of research that came out in November: 1/ London's housing crisis is harming its economy We published new analysis with Mayor of London, The G15 & London Councils, which aimed to quantify the link between London's productivity and housing affordability for the first time. It found that a 1% reduction in housing costs in London would bring *£7.3bn* in benefits over 10 years. https://lnkd.in/enKFJY6Q 2/ No Recourse to Public Funds is pushing migrants into poverty and failing in its own policy objectives We published new research, carried out by the Centre for Social Policy Studies and funded by us, exploring the social and economic impacts of NRPF. It found that the impacts of the policy are especially stark in London - 120,000 London households are subject to the NRPF condition & at risk of destitution. 36,900 households are already living in poverty. https://lnkd.in/gyM8_T6j WPI Economics 3/ The value of wealth has grown much faster than the value of work. A new report from IPPR explored wealth inequality in the UK in comparison to earnings. Wealth inequality in the UK is huge. The top 10% owns around half of all wealth, while the bottom 30% collectively owns little more than £1 in every £100. https://lnkd.in/ea5rCJ7b 4/ Two and a half million Londoners are in poverty. The Social Metric Commission's new report found that UK levels of poverty are at their highest in the 21st century. And in London, 2.4m people are in poverty - twice the population of Birmingham. https://lnkd.in/eq2AWZ9r 5/ Refugee homelessness is rising NACCOM's new report found that a record high of 1,941 refugee adults were homeless in 2023-24 - an increase of *99%* on last year. https://lnkd.in/ePsCee5g 6/ The forgotten third The UK care sector relies on migrant workers, who make up a third of its workforce. Work Rights Centre explored the level of exploitation in the sector, and found that the Home Office has granted sponsorship licenses to *almost 200 companies* with a recent record of labour violations. https://lnkd.in/esK6zHTi

There's been a growth in the number of hospitality employers that are Living Wage accredited in recent years. But there's still much more to be done. Almost *half* of hospitality jobs in London are low paid. Living Wage Foundation's new toolkit provides practical tips for how to become Living Wage accredited, as well as the challenges and benefits that hospitality businesses who are already accredited have seen. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eEkpUE2W

The UK care sector relies on migrant workers, who make up a third of its workforce. But migrant workers in the sector are facing acute pressures and challenges. Work Rights Centre's new report showed that many migrant care workers are facing... ▪️ Unsustainable working hours ▪️ Low levels of pay ▪️ Persistent breaches of employment rights ▪️ A visa system that makes leaving exploitative work situations difficult On top of this, the report analysed companies registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and licensed by the Home Office to sponsor migrant workers. It found that the Home Office has granted sponsorship licenses to *almost 200 companies* with a recent record of labour violations. You can read the full research, which includes recommendations for change, here: https://lnkd.in/ePixCVgD

"Reparative grantmaking might sound like a mouthful, but it’s really about fixing systemic inequalities through thoughtful and inclusive approaches to funding. "It’s not just about giving grants but ensuring that how we give them and to whom matters deeply. "In this discussion, we dug into the nuances of power dynamics in grantmaking. "The big question of the day was: what happens if we don’t do this work? Simple: nothing changes. "Inaction isn’t neutral—it maintains the status quo, and if the status quo is built on systemic inequity, well, you are part of the problem. So yes, funders, we’ve got to step up." An insightful blog from our grants manager Ugo Ikokwu, following a panel discussion at the UK Community Foundations conference 👇

It was great to visit & see the excellent work of some of our social investment partners last month. The first picture was taken in Jerk Grill – a jerk chicken restaurant which aims to provide employment to young people. Karis Theophane (second from right) founded Jerk Grill as a food truck in Peckham, and opened its restaurant in a new site in Hackney in 2024, which we provided funding towards. As well as providing employment to young people, Jerk Grill aims to tackle food poverty and isolation through cooking classes and foodbank sessions. Next to Karis (far right) is Adeola Onigbanjo, CEO & Founder of the Youth PWR Charity. Youth PWR is a London-based social enterprise, which aims to address the issue of youth unemployment – particularly in areas of deprivation and among Black and minoritised communities. One of the ways it does this is through Youth PWR magazine, which we provided funding towards. It’s a youth culture and lifestyle magazine, which provides young people with a platform to develop their writing, photography and journalistic skills. It’s distributed across independent stores, educational institutions and youth hubs. The second photo is with the team at ARK RESETTLEMENT SERVICES at their new property – which we helped it purchase. It’s being refurbished to provide housing for people nearing the end of their custodial sentence, or newly released into the community from prison. Its vision is a world where all ex-offenders are given a chance to succeed. We’re proud to fund all of these organisations, as part of our social investment portfolio. Alongside grant making, social investment is a key tool in our mission to tackle poverty and inequality in London. Ugo Ikokwu, Luke Kavanagh

NEW: London's housing crisis is holding its economy back Homes are the foundations of all our lives. But for so many Londoners, a decent, suitable home simply isn’t affordable. The impacts of the housing crisis are horrendous. It pushes people into homelessness in record numbers: on average one child in every classroom is homeless. It locks people in poverty. It damages their health, their wellbeing, their ability to take part in society. The human impact of the housing crisis is clear. Now we know that it’s holding London’s economy back, too. This new analysis commissioned by us, Mayor of London, London Councils & The G15 aimed to quantify the link between London's productivity and housing affordability for the first time. Its main finding was clear: when housing costs go up, productivity goes down. It found that an increase in housing costs by 1% reduces productivity by 0.14%. This might sound insignificant. But across the whole of London, it has a huge impact. If you were to reduce housing costs by just 1% across London, it would bring £7.3bn in benefits over 10 years. The new government has made economic growth its number one priority. This report shows that if it’s going to achieve its ambitions, the government needs to tackle London’s housing crisis once and for all - especially given London's importance to the economy. It adds weight to the urgency of taking real, ambitious action. Not just for the good of London and Londoners, but for the economic growth the government is relying on so that everyone is better off.