City Bridge Foundation
We provide grants and use our resources to help communities foster connections, become more resilient and build a more equal London.
Overview
Total reviews: 40
Median 10 hours
Latest Reviews
Feb 12, 2024
Other - applied in 2024
Re the application portal, save info on a separate doc, it has a habit of losing information even when SAVE is selected on each page - and even multiple times on some pages this is needed - plus not allowing certain selections from drop down bars
Pros
Positive leader in the field
Gives more than money
Risk taker
Insightful
Builds relationships
Understands nonprofits and issues
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Grant currently pending
If you were funded tell us the outcome
Other
What year was this experience?
2024
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Average
Found the process deductive consuming and that’s user friendly, note that I use a Mac not PC.
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
We’ve a previous, indirectly selected grant, accessed through a multi-funder portal that was more straightforward
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
I think they consider where the grants can be best spent quite carefully and are not wrapped up in tokenism as with the Arts Council, who we’ve given up on.
If you had one piece of advice to give to this funder (about grantmaking or anything else), what would it be?
Improve the application portal so it’s more cross-platform
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent
If you believe the contents of this review are inappropriate please contact us via email.
Feb 8, 2024
applied in 2024
Spreadsheet is very important and the reason why you need the fund
Pros
Gives more than money
Culturally sensitive
Friendly
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Grant currently pending
If you were funded tell us the outcome
What year was this experience?
2024
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Excellent
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
The application was straight forward
If you had one piece of advice to give to this funder (about grantmaking or anything else), what would it be?
Not too many question
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent
If you believe the contents of this review are inappropriate please contact us via email.
Jan 19, 2024
Funded for greater amount - applied in 2023
Read the guidelines and begin a conversation with the funder. They are friendly and willing to discuss your project.
Pros
Positive leader in the field
Culturally sensitive
Insightful
Builds relationships
Likes site visits
Responsive
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Current or former grantee
If you were funded tell us the outcome
Funded for greater amount
What year was this experience?
2023
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Excellent
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
Access to funding officers and guidance along the way, site visit really helped
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent
If you believe the contents of this review are inappropriate please contact us via email.
Dec 12, 2023
applied in 2023
they ask things on the actual application portal which they do not specify in the pre-app guidance or templates they share
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Grant currently pending
If you were funded tell us the outcome
What year was this experience?
2023
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Average
you cannot progress through the funding platform unless you complete all sections up to that point. so now i see a field saying 'referee' which has never been mentioned in any of the guidance or preamble, but i don't know what it will require because i have to upload a monitoring framework which they also never said they required in preamble or guidance documents. very frustrating.
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
cannot say. have not (yet) been funded
If you believe the contents of this review are inappropriate please contact us via email.
Sep 25, 2023
Funded for amount requested - applied in 2023
Set aside a few days to prepare the application.
Ask for amount you actually need and don't be afraid to include inflationary increases, especially re salaries.
Make sure you have all of the supplementary documents ready - safeguarding policies, your Mem & Arts (governing document), job descriptions for the post(s) you are asking CBT to fund, your most recent audited accounts.
Give some time to the monitoring framework - I found the template provided helpful.
Pros
Positive leader in the field
Gives more than money
Understands nonprofits and issues
Responsive
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Current or former grantee
If you were funded tell us the outcome
Funded for amount requested
What year was this experience?
2023
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Excellent
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
Understands the sector and the financial challenges we are facing post COVID and during the cost of living crisis
If you had one piece of advice to give to this funder (about grantmaking or anything else), what would it be?
Try to update applicants about the status of their application and give a realistic date of when they will hear an outcome, even if this is just which month.
I needed to chase a few times. Start to finish took 4 months. We had expected to hear sooner and things seemed to progress slowly in the final month.
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent
If you believe the contents of this review are inappropriate please contact us via email.
Feb 12, 2024
Other - applied in 2024
Re the application portal, save info on a separate doc, it has a habit of losing information even when SAVE is selected on each page - and even multiple times on some pages this is needed - plus not allowing certain selections from drop down bars
Pros
Positive leader in the field
Gives more than money
Risk taker
Insightful
Builds relationships
Understands nonprofits and issues
Cons
Pros
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Grant currently pending
If you were funded tell us the outcome
Other
What year was this experience?
2024
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Average
Found the process deductive consuming and that’s user friendly, note that I use a Mac not PC.
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
We’ve a previous, indirectly selected grant, accessed through a multi-funder portal that was more straightforward
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
I think they consider where the grants can be best spent quite carefully and are not wrapped up in tokenism as with the Arts Council, who we’ve given up on.
If you had one piece of advice to give to this funder (about grantmaking or anything else), what would it be?
Improve the application portal so it’s more cross-platform
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent
Feb 8, 2024
applied in 2024
Spreadsheet is very important and the reason why you need the fund
Pros
Gives more than money
Culturally sensitive
Friendly
Cons
Pros
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Grant currently pending
If you were funded tell us the outcome
What year was this experience?
2024
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Excellent
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
The application was straight forward
If you had one piece of advice to give to this funder (about grantmaking or anything else), what would it be?
Not too many question
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent
Jan 19, 2024
Funded for greater amount - applied in 2023
Read the guidelines and begin a conversation with the funder. They are friendly and willing to discuss your project.
Pros
Positive leader in the field
Culturally sensitive
Insightful
Builds relationships
Likes site visits
Responsive
Cons
Pros
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Current or former grantee
If you were funded tell us the outcome
Funded for greater amount
What year was this experience?
2023
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Excellent
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
Access to funding officers and guidance along the way, site visit really helped
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent
Dec 12, 2023
applied in 2023
they ask things on the actual application portal which they do not specify in the pre-app guidance or templates they share
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Grant currently pending
If you were funded tell us the outcome
What year was this experience?
2023
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Average
you cannot progress through the funding platform unless you complete all sections up to that point. so now i see a field saying 'referee' which has never been mentioned in any of the guidance or preamble, but i don't know what it will require because i have to upload a monitoring framework which they also never said they required in preamble or guidance documents. very frustrating.
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
cannot say. have not (yet) been funded
Sep 25, 2023
Funded for amount requested - applied in 2023
Set aside a few days to prepare the application.
Ask for amount you actually need and don't be afraid to include inflationary increases, especially re salaries.
Make sure you have all of the supplementary documents ready - safeguarding policies, your Mem & Arts (governing document), job descriptions for the post(s) you are asking CBT to fund, your most recent audited accounts.
Give some time to the monitoring framework - I found the template provided helpful.
Pros
Positive leader in the field
Gives more than money
Understands nonprofits and issues
Responsive
Cons
Pros
Cons
What is your relationship with the funder for this experience?
Current or former grantee
If you were funded tell us the outcome
Funded for amount requested
What year was this experience?
2023
How would you rate this funder's accessibility?
Excellent
How successfully do you think this funder is accomplishing its goals as a funder?
Excellent
Tell us one thing that this funder does really well
Understands the sector and the financial challenges we are facing post COVID and during the cost of living crisis
If you had one piece of advice to give to this funder (about grantmaking or anything else), what would it be?
Try to update applicants about the status of their application and give a realistic date of when they will hear an outcome, even if this is just which month. I needed to chase a few times. Start to finish took 4 months. We had expected to hear sooner and things seemed to progress slowly in the final month.
How was your relationship overall with the funder?
Excellent