London Community Response

London Funders brought together 67 funders from across sectors through the London Community Response, who worked together through shared priorities and a single application portal to distribute £57.5m in grants to 3,400 groups responding to the needs of communities affected by covid-19. The programme opened four days after the start of the first lockdown in the UK, and through five waves of funding over the year has met crisis needs (with funding decisions taken as quickly as 48 hours after application), alongside providing longer-term grants to support the recovery and renewal of civil society beyond covid-19. Supported by equity partners funded to provide their expertise, the LCR has ensured over 75% of grants went to groups led by and for discriminated-against communities, with over 90% of funding going to smaller charities working directly with the people most affected. Data analysis from over 10,000 applications received through the single portal was used through the year to help focus funding on the areas and issues with the highest needs, with shared monitoring and evaluation across funders supporting learning about what the sector needs to survive and thrive through and beyond the covid-19 crisis, informing the next steps they will take together.