What we do
We achieve our aims by funding charitable work. We make grants through our open programme and we also fund special initiatives. We aim to develop supportive relationships with the community and voluntary organisations that we fund and to encourage the sharing of learning and skills. Where it is relevant and appropriate we use this knowledge to influence and promote change and we work with the organisations we fund to achieve this.
As an independent funder we are particularly interested in work which is viewed as challenging and we are willing to take risks. One of our longstanding principles is to support activities which government agencies will not or are unlikely to fund. We also want to make sure that we are able to respond to new issues as they arise and find creative ways of tackling deep-rooted problems relating to poverty. We use our knowledge, reputation and other resources to achieve this.
Our funding guidelines provide information about us, what we will and will not fund, and how you can apply to us. We update our priorities every five years to ensure we are responding to the changing nature of poverty.
Open Programme
Our open programme has four priority areas. We aim:
1. To improve employment opportunities for disadvantaged people;
2. To promote the inclusion of recent arrivals to the UK;
3. To promote social justice;
4. To strengthen the voluntary and community sector.
We will also fund exceptional work to tackle poverty which falls outside our open programme.
Please read our funding guidelines to gain a better understanding of our priorities before making an application to us.
Funding available
We are one of the largest independent charitable foundations in London. Each year we expect to make funds of approximately £6 million available, of which more than £4 million will be allocated to our open programme, and the remainder to our special initiatives and commissioning other work. We expect to make between 90 to 100 grants each year through the open programme.
There is no minimum or maximum size of grant and the amount you request should be the amount you need. However, the average grant is likely to be about £45,000 in total, although a significant number of grants will be smaller (between £5,000 to £30,000) while a few will be larger (more than £70,000).
Who and what we will fund
We fund registered charities, industrial and provident societies and friendly societies. In exceptional cases we will fund other types of organisations undertaking charitable activities. The majority of our funding is for revenue costs, though we can also fund small capital items.
We want to make sure that our funds reach the people who need them most, especially those who are excluded and are particularly disadvantaged and discriminated against. Some of our work benefits all those living in poverty, while other work targets particular groups. These may include women, black and minority ethnic communities, asylum seekers and refugees, lesbians and gay men, disabled people (including those with mental health issues), young men and poor white communities. We therefore welcome applications from these groups and others who can demonstrate that they are particularly affected by poverty.
Special Initiatives
In addition to the open programme, we also fund special initiatives where we want to make a more strategic impact and, where appropriate, influence the work of others. Often the special initiatives arise from work which we are funding in our open programme which identifies gaps in a particular area of work.
These initiatives are larger in scale than our open programme and we expect to commit more than £1 million each year to this work. We are actively involved in these initiatives and work closely with the organisations we have funded. We have already identified a number of areas we want to investigate and support and we will publicise these in due course, both on our website and through relevant voluntary and community sector networks, as they develop.
We will also develop some of these initiatives with other funders as we believe that there are many benefits in pooling our resources to gain greater insight and impact on a particular issue.
Research
We occasionally fund research when it increases knowledge of the areas of work outlined in our open programme or of other aspects of poverty in London. In particular we are interested in work which has a clear application to policy and practice. We generally commission such work and make the research available on our website and through other means.
Networks
The exchange of information, good practice and ideas between funders has many benefits. We are active in many formal and informal networks including London Funders and the Association of Charitable Foundations.
Managing our assets
We own a large property and equities portfolio. These provide the resources to meet our charitable aims. One of our assets is the Resource Centre for London’s voluntary sector on Holloway Road, N7 which provides meeting facilities, offices and related services.
Trust for London
We work closely with our sister fund, Trust for London (TfL), which supports small, new and emerging voluntary organisations. The Trust is operated by the same staff and trustees but has separate funding guidelines. Please click the TfL at the top of this page to access this information.
Living London history
Sadlers Wells, the Old Vic, Chelsea Physic Garden, Hampstead Heath, Whitechapel Art Gallery... these are all symbols of London, its heritage and culture. And all have direct connections with City Parochial Foundation.
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How CPF was established
Our assets derive from the philanthropy of the people of London. Around 1,400 separate charitable gifts and bequests, some of them 400 years old, were held by the 112 parishes within the City of London, their income to be used for the benefit of the churches or, more often, the poor of those parishes.
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Mission Statement
We exist to benefit the poor of London.
We aim to enable and empower the poor of London to tackle poverty and its root causes, and to ensure that our funds reach those most in need.
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The governance structure
Over the past few years, a number of changes have been made to the structures governing City Parochial Foundation and Trust for London aimed at ensuring that they both have appropriate constitutions for current circumstances, to achieve greater flexibility and maintain an efficient and innovative approach to the work of both CPF and TfL.
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CPF Logo Guide
Where you could use the logo
If you wish you could use the City Parochial Foundation logo to acknowledge a grant in books, brochures, catalogues, CDs, films, flyers, records, reports, pamphlets, tapes and on the internet.
How to use the logo
When you are producing promotional materials, please use the logo as specified and illustrated in the pdf document below.
Size, proportion and arrangement
The logo can be enlarged, but must never be used smaller than the minimum reproduction size specified opposite. It should not be distorted or rearranged in any way.
A Logo Style Guide of instructions can be downloaded below:
CPF Corporate Logo Style Guide
To download the logos in its various formats click link below:
Central Governing Body (Trustees)
Ultimate decision-making at CPF and TfL is the responsibility of the Central Governing Body (CGB), whose members are nominated for initial three year terms by a number of bodies. Efforts are made to ensure a wide range of experience and background.
The CGB has a number of standing committees dealing with specific aspects of CPF and TfL affairs
including grants, asset allocation, estate; and finance, resources and investment.
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Staff
Who is who at the Foundation.
Further information including Grant Reviews can be found in Publications section.
Referring Page: http://www.cityparochial.org.uk/cpf/about/
Home Page: http://www.cityparochial.org.uk/cpf/