Destination City Partnership Fund – Information and Apply

• Grants issued through the Destination City Partnership Fund will be awarded to projects that are being delivered for the benefit of communities within the Square Mile. Projects which engage communities on the City’s immediate boundaries will also be considered if they can demonstrate delivery of the Destination City objectives.
• Projects must have all benefits delivered within the City of London. Applicants may be based outside of the City of London, but it is anticipated that most applicant organisations will be City-based.

Applications are welcomed from:

• Constituted voluntary organisations and resident associations.
• Constituted business organisations and associations.
• UK registered charities.
• Registered community interest companies (CIC).
• Charitable companies (incorporated as not for profit).
• Registered charitable incorporated organisations.
• Exempt or excepted charities.
• Registered charitable industrial and provident society (IPS) or charitable community benefit society (BenCom).

The fund welcomes applications from both established organisations and new initiatives.

We will not consider applications from/for:

• Grants of more than £10,000.
• Applications from individuals. Individuals who wish to apply for funding should do so through a City-based constituted organisation or group. For more information on our requirements, please see ‘Who Can Apply?’ in Frequently Asked Questions.
• Projects that do not take place within the City of London.
• Projects which have already taken place or expenditure that has been incurred in advance of a grant decision.
• Organisations currently in receipt of Destination City Partnership Fund grant funding for an active project. Organisations can only hold one Destination City Partnership Fund grant at any one time. If your organisation is seeking continuation funding of an existing Destination City Partnership Fund funded project please speak to your Funding Manager.
• Although applicants may apply to the Destination City Partnership Fund for a number of different projects, the total Destination City Partnership grant funding awarded to the same applicant cannot exceed £20,000 in any two year period measured from the application date of the first grant awarded. 
• Organisations without at least three unrelated members on their governing body.
• Organisations without a clear set of governing rules or without a governing document appropriate to their legal status.
• Organisations that cannot demonstrate their ongoing financial viability for the next 12 months from the date of their application.
• Organisations without an asset lock or other general mechanism used to cover all the provisions designed to ensure that the assets of an organisation, including profits or surpluses generated, are used for the benefit of its community or to further its activities and mission.
• Organisations that do not have an ordinary business bank account with at least two unrelated account signatories who do not live at the same address.
• Political parties or organisations involved in political lobbying.
• Organisations working with children and young people or vulnerable adults, who do not have adequate and effective safeguarding policies in place or are unable to show they are working towards this. For more information on our requirements, please see ‘What do you mean by safeguarding policy and procedures?’ in Frequently Asked Questions.
• Organisations whose previous application was unsuccessful. Such applicants cannot reapply to Destination City Partnership Fund for 4 months from the submission date of the unsuccessful application.
• Applications for funded roles that do not pay at least the London Living Wage.
• Charities established/registered outside the UK.

Online applications can be submitted at any time, there are no deadlines.

To apply for a grant you will need to complete an online application form. Please ensure that your activity takes place within the boundaries of the City of London.

If you require our application form or related guidance notes in alternative formats contact the Central Funding and Charity Management Team to discuss your needs.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the Central Funding and Charity Management Team for an informal discussion of your proposal in advance of submitting an application. We do not consider draft applications but are able to talk through whether your organisation is eligible for funding and our priorities for funding. To arrange a pre-application discussion email the Central Funding and Charity Management Team.

As part of your application we ask for a number of supporting documents. To learn how to upload documents see ‘How do I submit supporting documents with my application?’ in Frequently Asked Questions. We require the following documents as part of your application:

• Organisation’s governing document. Depending on your legal status this may be a Constitution, Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association or Trust Deed. If you are part of the Church of England we do not need this document and you should attach a note stating that this is the case.
• Funding required spreadsheet identifying the full project costs, other income and hence grant funds required – including all in-kind and cash contributions.
• Most recent signed, audited or independently examined accounts. If the applicant is a newly constituted organisation (established in the last 18 months) then please submit management accounts and a financial forecast for the first 12 months of operation.
• Monitoring and evaluation framework. This should specify both the activities (outputs) and differences (outcomes) you aim to deliver through your funded project including SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound) targets for each grant year. See ‘How to develop a monitoring framework’ in Frequently Asked Questions.
• Relevant Job Description/s and Person specification/s. These should be submitted for any funded posts where the post holder will work more than 17.5 hours per week. Documentation should include the hours of work and pay rate or salary. The City of London is an accredited Living Wage employer. Any post paid for by a grant must be paid at least the London Living Wage.
• Safeguarding policy. We expect all organisations applying to the Destination City Partnership Fund to have considered their safeguarding responsibilities and to have suitable policies, procedures, reporting mechanisms and training in place to protect from harm all those who come into contact with the organisation including beneficiaries, staff and volunteers. Application organisations seeking funding for activities with or for young people and vulnerable adults must have a robust safeguarding policy in place. For more information see ‘What do you mean by safeguarding policy and procedures?’ in Frequently Asked Questions.

Once we have received your online application and supporting documents your application will be allocated to a Funding Manager who will lead the review of your proposal. As part of this assessment process we will undertake a number of due diligence checks in relation to your organisation’s governance, history, safeguarding and finance. As part of the assessment process we will arrange an assessment discussion with you to talk in more detail about any questions that have arisen and to find out more details about your project. You may be asked to submit additional information to support our assessment which may include a financial review. Our assessment will consider the following criteria:

• Applications should demonstrate that funding will be used to meet the purpose of the Destination City Partnership Fund and meet at least one of the outcomes of Destination City.
• Applications should evidence of the feasibility, deliverability and sustainability of the project.
• Applications should set out clear timescales for delivery. Projects should be delivered by 1 April 2028 unless a grant extension is agreed.
• Co-funding: Through the Destination City Partnership Fund the City Corporation is seeking to co-fund projects with partners. Proposals must set out what cash and in-kind contribution will be made to match-fund the cash contribution requested from the City Corporation.
• Sustainability: Grant funded projects are expected to become sustainable within the lifetime of the Destination City Partnerships Fund grant.
• Test and learn: The Destination City Partnership Fund seeks to test-and-learn approaches that best deliver the Destination City outcomes. Applicants must submit a monitoring and evaluation framework specifying the activities (outputs) that will be delivered and the differences (outcomes) that will be achieved as a result of delivering the project with measurable targets that sets out how the organisation will track progress against intended outputs and outcomes and how the results will be used to further test and develop the initiative.
• Applications for infrastructure projects should have obtained all necessary planning and other consents prior to the release of funding.
• Applications should not include expenditure for any spending commitments made before the date of grant awarded not apply to the Destination City Partnership Fund for any part of a project that is already funded.
• Applications for any post paid for in full or part by a grant must be paid the London Living Wage as a minimum.
• Applications that include a request for funding towards a post where the post holder will work more than 17.5 hours per week must submit a job description to outline the key roles and responsibilities of the post, the hours and the pay rate/salary.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis. Funding decisions are made through Officer delegation. Decisions should normally be made within eight weeks from the receipt of a valid application.