Trust for London

Who we are

We're one of London's largest funders, and we've been supporting work for a fairer city since 1891.

We fund organisations fighting for a poverty-free London.

At any one time we support around 300 organisations. The work we fund comes in many forms, from community groups helping people build skills and knowledge, to large scale campaigns and research.

We value both lived and learned experience, and think it's vital to include those with direct experience of the issues being worked on. We fund a number of organisations led by those with lived experience.

Whatever we're working on, all our funded projects have one core aim - to make London a better, fairer city.

Our culture and values

Our values reflect our team culture, guide our work and inform the decisions we make.

We are thoughtful and courageous. We are thorough and targeted in our approach. We value many forms of evidence and insight, and we are not afraid to make difficult decisions.

We use our power with care. We recognise, use and share power to achieve our mission.

Relationships are at the heart of what we do.We build strong, supportive relationships, and listen deeply to the needs of the people we work with. We respect different perspectives.

We are straightforward and transparent. We strive to be direct, open and accountable.

We are always learning. We seek out and take seriously the guidance, leadership and feedback of others. We are always open to changing our minds and approaches to be more effective.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We understand that people experience poverty in different ways, and we strive to create a culture where people of all backgrounds and experiences feel appreciated and valued. This approach is central to ensuring that we are accountable to London’s richly diverse communities.

We recognise that there are deep structural inequalities in our society. Discrimination and social exclusion are major causes and consequences of poverty. People facing discrimination based on their identities [1], social positions [2] and in particular people at the crossroads of intersecting layers of discrimination [3] are at greater risk of poverty.

Our understanding of poverty goes beyond lacking the resources to meet basic needs. It extends to having opportunities and choices to participate fully in society. A vision of a more equitable society is integral to our mission, and we will work proactively to contribute to this goal.

Working towards a more inclusive society must start with ensuring that our own governance and operations are as inclusive as possible. We are conscious that many groups of people have historically been excluded from positions of power and leadership, and we want to take action to address this situation. We have taken proactive steps to ensure that the voices and experiences of people with first-hand experience of poverty [4] and inequality are at the forefront of all aspects of our work, including our governance, management, staffing, operations and funding decisions.

Our aim is to re-balance the value placed on first-hand and learned experience, so that we are well placed to respond to our mission of tackling poverty and inequality in the Capital.

A crucial element of our diversity, equity and inclusion commitments is to document the actions we are taking, continuously assess our progress, and share this publicly so we are accountable.