Propel began its journey in 2021 as a bold collaboration between 12 funders and five equity infrastructure organisations. Together, we shared a vision to invest £100m over ten years to tackle structural inequalities in London.  

This is the first time partners from across the funding and equity sectors have come together at this scale – creating a long-term collaboration that prioritises historically underfunded groups. By putting equity and systemic change at its heart, Propel aims to reshape how we think about creating change with and for communities.  

In its first three years, Propel distributed almost £45m in grants to 131 organisations, with the majority being organisations led by and for the communities they serve. With the exception of a pooled fund held by the London Legal Support Trust, funders were largely aligned – using shared processes such as a single application form and agreed criteria, but each selecting to fund the applications and organisations that were the best fit with their own priorities, and retaining their own decision making. 

In 2024, Propel partners reflected on our shared ambitions and explored how to offer long-term grants for the next phase of Propel. We engaged Propel grantees in designing the criteria for these new grants, asking:  

• What enables communities experiencing structural inequalities to explore, develop and lead approaches to change?  

• What types of financial and non-financial support best enable systemic, equity-focused work?  

The long term grants programme has been guided by what we heard, and organisations are now in the process of applying for long term grants of up to seven-year grants, at least 75% of which will go to those led by and for the communities they serve.  

For the Propel Long Term Grants Programme, the funding (from City Bridge Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund) will sit in a pooled fund held by Collaboration Circle. Pooling funds means things have to be done differently, as funding is now in a truly collective pot, and the design of Collaboration Circle means a more equitable approach has been hard-wired into the way collaborations are managed. Some of the practical ways this shows up include:  

• Applications will be assessed by a cross-sector team – bringing together funders, equity and justice organisations, and, for youth-focused grants, trained young assessors.  

• Decisions are made by a Funding Committee, co-chaired by a funder and an equity infrastructure organisation, and comprising three funders and seven equity organisations. This is not an advisory group whose decisions are ratified elsewhere – the decision-making power lies fully with this group.  

• The Funding Committee will commission the non-financial support that helps funded organisations achieve their systems change goals. This could include capacity-building and learning support, as well as specialist systems support that brings funders and partners together in a shared effort.  

Alongside holding the pooled money, Collaboration Circle will also host a team of people seconded from both funders and equity organisations to provide relational grant management throughout the life of the grants.  

By relational grant making we mean a people-first approach to funding that focuses on building strong, trusting relationships between funders and the organisations they support. Instead of relying on rigid rules and heavy paperwork, this model encourages open conversations, shared goals, and flexible support. It’s about working together as partners – listening, learning, and adapting to what communities really need.   

By shifting the focus from control to collaboration, relational grant management helps create more meaningful, lasting change. Bringing grant managers together in one team will ensure that funded organisations experience unified and streamlined support.