Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Grants Officer and Director of City Bridge Trust, recommending financial support for Heart of the City throughout the five-year period of Bridging Divides as a key partner with a unique offer to support effective delivery of the strategy. The Trust had a long and important relationship with Heart of the City and the proposal would directly contribute to several areas of the trust’s work implementing the Bridging Divides strategy.

Since 2015 HotC had expanded its model and achieved membership across 16 London Boroughs. The charity now wanted to focus on developing localised clusters of contributors and local authority leadership, and was piloting a project with Westminster City Council which could eventually help the charity become self-sustaining. The charity’s work would also help the development of City Bridge Trust’s Funder Plus offer under Bridging Divides.

A Member expressed concern about the size and nature of the grant, suggesting that there was a risk that the charity may become too reliant on the Trust’s funding. The Chief Grants Officer and Director of City Bridge Trust responded that it was key for charities to find models that helped them to become sustainable. Heart of the City was hosted in the City of London and had in the past been ignored by other funders because of the perception of its relationship with the City of London Corporation. Heart of the City would link in with the City Bridge Trust and would be a valuable strategic partner for the Bridging Divides strategy.

The Chairman said that Heart of the City had been an exceptional partner for the City Bridge Trust, but it was important for Members to scrutinise grants of this scale, and the application had been questioned and considered on its merits.  The Committee noted that over the last two years Heart of the City members had raised over £19million for charitable causes.

RESOLVED – That the City Bridge Trust Committee agree a grant of £475,000 over five years (5 x £95,000) to Heart of the City to continue provision of the Foundation programme including the salary of an Accounts Manager and 50% of a new Stakeholder and Membership Manager. This will enable HotC to better engage the large contributor companies in new areas of delivery, to work more closely with City Bridge Trust in delivering Bridging Divides attending advisory groups as necessary and to work closely with London’s Giving local areas to develop new membership clusters.