The City Bridge Trust (CBT), London’s largest independent grant-maker to charities, is to increase its annual giving to c£20 million in each of the next three years (up from c£15 million pa currently).

The decision was made by the elected Court of Common Council of the City of London Corporation and the c£20 million a year will go to London charities which work in areas such as disability, inclusion, youth employment and mental health.

20 years after the Disability Discrimination Act was passed, disabled people are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as their non-disabled counterparts. Helping disabled people into work is, therefore, a key priority for CBT.

Since 1995, when CBT was established, the Trust has awarded grants to over 7,000 charities in London, totalling a third of a billion pounds.

Speaking after the Common Council decision, Jeremy Mayhew, the Chairman of City Bridge Trust, said:

“In our 20th year, we are underlining our long-term commitment to London by providing extra funds to help disadvantaged Londoners, to strengthen charities, and to encourage increased collaboration between the public, private and charitable sectors.”

Bridge House Estates, whose sole trustee is the City of London Corporation, owns and maintains the five bridges which cross the Thames into the City - the ‘Square Mile’ business district around St Paul’s. Established in 1995, the CBT makes use of surplus income from the Bridge House Estates not required to maintain the five bridges - to the benefit of the whole of London.

For more information visit http://www.citybridgetrust.org.uk/

ENDS