The funded organisations work across disability justice, racial equity, access to legal and financial advice, mental health, gender justice, climate justice and community infrastructure. Together, they are focused on tackling systemic challenges affecting Londoners and changing the services and structures that shape people’s lives.

The majority of funding has been awarded to organisations led by and for the communities they serve, reflecting a deliberate focus on lived experience and community leadership. The long-term funding marks a continued shift in funding practice. Rather than short-term, project-based grants which only address the symptoms of inequality, this programme is designed to give organisations enough time, stability, and flexibility to tackle the root causes of the inequalities affecting their communities. 

Three of the organisations set to benefit from the programme are Action on Disability, African Community School, and The Ubele Initiative. 

Action on Disability

Action on Disability is strengthening a programme enabling Deaf and Disabled people to influence local systems through co-production, collective leadership and structured engagement with decision-makers. Centred around forums, a youth board and campaigns activity, the work supports participants to shape policies, services and community environments across West London. 

African Community School

African Community School is working to establish a zero-exclusion zone in Hackney by shifting power from institutions to communities and changing exclusionary practices in schools. Its programme combines mentoring, supplementary education, family support, school partnerships and policy advocacy to influence borough-wide education systems. 

The Ubele Initiative

The Ubele Initiative is strengthening community infrastructure, leadership and asset ownership to support long-term sustainability for Black and racially minoritised communities. Its programme focuses on community wealth-building, leadership development, and enterprise support to redistribute power and influence wider systems. 

Propel is a collaboration of funders powered by London Funders. Funding for the Long-Term Grants Programme is pooled through Collaboration Circle, which holds funds on behalf of City Bridge Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund. The programme was shaped with Propel partners, drawing on learning about what enables lasting change, including time, trust, flexibility and putting decision-making power closer to communities.

Pooling funding through Collaboration Circle has allowed funders and equity partners to decide how funding is awarded together, rather than decisions being made separately. This brings together funder expertise, alongside the knowledge and experience of organisations working closest to communities, to ensure that funding decisions are better informed and grounded in real-world needs and realities. 

Alongside the funding, organisations will be supported through long-term relationships with Collaboration Circle focused on learning and adaptation, rather than one-off grants and compliance-heavy reporting. 

David Buxton OBE, Chief Executive, Action on Disability said:

"We are absolutely delighted to receive this support through Propel’s Long-Term Grants Programme. This funding will strengthen our Our Voice project and create more opportunities for Deaf and Disabled people to influence services, challenge barriers and help drive systemic change. The long-term and flexible nature of the funding gives us the stability to build stronger community leadership, deepen partnerships and ensure Disabled people’s voices remain central to the decisions that shape their lives” 

Kome Owuasu and Caroline Hickey, African Community School said:

"Sustained funding gives us the stability and capacity to expand our outreach, strengthen partnerships, and deepen our impact through mentoring, supplementary education, and advocacy. It enables us to continue driving meaningful change, supporting young people and families, and creating more equitable opportunities within education and beyond.” 

Phil Tulba, Associate Director for Assets and Enterprise, The Ubele Initiative said:

“This is vital investment in the strength of Black and racially minoritised community infrastructure across London. Through Agbero 2100, it enables us to deepen our support for grassroots leaders and organisations who are building community wealth, securing assets, and creating lasting systems of change. The long-term nature of this support gives us the stability to respond to community needs with greater intention, collaboration, and impact.” 

Geraldine Blake, Director of Collaboration and Development, Collaboration Circle said:

“Propel’s second cohort of long-term grants continues to demonstrate what is possible when funders move beyond short-term funding cycles and commit to shared, long-term investment in communities. By pooling resources and decision-making through Collaboration Circle, City Bridge Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund are supporting organisations with the time, stability and flexibility they need to tackle the root causes of inequality and lead change on their own terms.”

This second cohort builds on the momentum from Propel’s first Long-Term Grants cohort, announced in January 2026, and marks the continued growth of a programme testing how long-term, collaborative funding can better support organisations and communities to lead lasting change.  

Together, the two cohorts represent nearly £30 million committed to 28 organisations across London through the Long-Term Grants Programme, funding designed to give organisations the time, stability and flexibility to lead change that simply cannot happen within short funding cycles. 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 across London. 

Funded organisations — Cohort 2 

• Action on Disability 

• Advice UK 

• African Community School 

• Connect North Korea 

• Future First Alumni 

• Indoamerican Refugee and Migrant Organisation (IRMO) 

• Law Centres Network 

• Legal Advice Centre (University House) 

• Money A+E UK CIC 

• South London Counselling and Support Services 

• Sunbeams London Ltd 

• The Africa Centre 

• The Avocado Foundation 

• The Love Tank CIC 

• The Maya Centre 

• The Ubele Initiative 

• Women’s Environmental Network 

About Propel

Propel is a collaboration of funders powered by London Funders, part of Funders Together. Propel aims to provide flexibility and capacity to organisations led by and for communities experiencing structural inequality, enabling them to lead collaborative efforts to tackle some of London’s biggest challenges. Propel launched in 2022 as a £100m, ten-year collaboration of funders. In its initial phase (2023–2025), Propel distributed almost £45 million in funding to 131 organisations supporting community-led work across London. The Long-Term Grants Programme represents a second phase, providing longer-term funding to a smaller number of organisations working to tackle the root causes of challenges affecting people’s lives across London.

For more information: https://londonpropel.org.uk/

About the Long-Term Grants Programme

Funding for Propel’s Long-Term Grants Programme is pooled through Collaboration Circle, which holds funds on behalf of City Bridge Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund. The programme provides long-term, flexible funding of up to seven years and is governed through shared decision-making involving funders and equity and justice organisations. 

About Collaboration Circle

Collaboration Circle enables funders and civil society organisations to pool funding and share decision-making in support of more equitable approaches to change. It holds pooled funds on behalf of cross-sector collaborations and supports governance models that bring funders and community partners into collective decision-making.