City Corporation and Mayor of London team up for young Londoners’ future

London’s largest independent funder has teamed up with the GLA to give the capital’s young people access to new educational, employment, cultural and sporting opportunities.

City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation’s charitable arm, today announced a £1m grant to the Mayor of London’s Young Londoners Fund to pay for schemes benefiting London’s young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The £1million funding will be available to support all the organisations delivering activities through the Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund. The money will pay for initiatives including mental health support for front-line youth workers, staff training and help to coordinate work with other organisations.

The Mayor’s new £45m Young Londoners Fund, announced in February and opened for applications on 15 May, will help children and young people to fulfil their potential, particularly those at risk of getting caught up in crime.

It will support a range of activities including in education, sport and culture. The three-year fund will see £30m made available for projects in local communities. The remaining £15m will be invested to expand existing projects funded by City Hall that support young Londoners.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“I’m determined to help more young Londoners make positive choices that will not only improve their own lives, but help to keep them, our communities and all Londoners safer.

“Community and grassroots projects play a vital role in tackling the causes of violent crime and giving more young Londoners the skills, support and opportunities they need to turn away from crime and fulfil their potential.

“Here at City Hall, we want to give these groups as much support as we possibly can through our Young Londoners Fund. I welcome City Bridge Trust’s additional investment, which will help these projects reach the young Londoners who need them the most.”

Alison Gowman, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s City Bridge Trust Committee, commented:

“The Mayor’s Young Londoners Fund will support young people who don’t have access to life-changing community projects. These experiences are important building blocks for every young Londoner’s development into adulthood.

“Working together we will make sure the capital’s young people are given the support they need to have a bright future.

“We are committed to making London a fairer place to work and live.”

The City Corporation’s charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, is London’s largest independent funder, making grants of £20 million a year to tackle disadvantage and inequality across the capital. The Trust has awarded around 7,800 grants totalling over £380 million since it first began in 1995. It helps achieve the City Corporation’s aim of changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Londoners.

In 2015 City Bridge Trust awarded £10millon over a 10-year period (£1m/year) to The Prince’s Trust. This strategic grant was awarded to enable the Princes Trust to reach some of the most socially deprived areas of London, and to ensure more work is done across London to help young people from some of the most challenging backgrounds.

The partnership is tackling youth unemployment in the capital, improving social mobility and supporting marginalised young people, such as those who are homeless.