Collaboration Circle has announced the first cohort of organisations to receive long-term funding through Propel’s Long-Term Grants Programme, with over £10.2 million awarded to support community-led systems change across London.
The programme will provide grants of up to seven years to eleven organisations working across areas including youth opportunity, disability justice, racial equity, gender justice, mental health and community strength. Together, these organisations are focused on addressing some of London’s most deep-rooted inequalities by changing the systems and services that shape people’s lives.
At least 85% of the funding in this first cohort has been awarded to organisations led by and for the communities they serve. This reflects a deliberate shift away from short-term, project-based funding towards longer-term approaches that prioritise lived experience, stability and shared learning.
A pooled and collaborative funding approach
Propel is a collaboration of funders powered by London Funders. Funding for the Long-Term Grants Programme is pooled through Collaboration Circle, which holds and manages the fund on behalf of City Bridge Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund.
Pooling funding through Collaboration Circle enables funders and equity partners to share decision-making, bringing together funder expertise alongside the knowledge and experience of organisations working closest to communities. This approach is designed to support more informed funding decisions and create the conditions for long-term, preventative systems change.
Alongside financial support, funded organisations will be supported through long-term, relational grant management focused on learning and adaptation, rather than compliance-heavy reporting.
By pooling resources and sharing power, Propel is creating the conditions for organisations and communities to lead change that simply cannot happen within short funding cycles
Geraldine Blake, Director of Collaboration and Development, London Funders
The first cohort
The first cohort includes eleven organisations working across different pressure points within systems that continue to produce unequal outcomes for London’s communities. Their work spans education, employment, health, disability, youth services and community power, with a shared commitment to tackling root causes rather than symptoms.
This announcement marks the start of a new phase for Propel, testing how long-term, collaborative funding can better support organisations and communities to lead lasting change. Learning from the programme will be shared with the wider funding and civil society sector as the work develops, with further grants to be announced over the coming months.
Read the full announcement and explore the first cohort on the Collaboration Circle website.