Cripplegate Foundation

Cripplegate Foundation drives lasting social change to build an equal society free from poverty and inequality, empowering residents to access opportunities and thrive through evidence-led, partnership-driven grantmaking. Rooted in values of transparency, openness, continuous challenge, deep listening to lived experiences, and advocacy for policy reform informed by local insights, it prioritizes community empowerment, relational practice, inclusive action, and systemic solutions over temporary relief. Believing change arises from grassroots power-building, authentic collaboration, and addressing root causes of deprivation, it supports organizations demonstrating strong community ties, beneficiary involvement, and commitment to diversity, equity, and climate responsibility.

It funds interventions tackling poverty relief, food insecurity through community kitchens and practical resources, social isolation via befriending and community cohesion activities, mental health and wellbeing including counselling, peer support groups, therapeutic outreach, and emotional support services for anxiety, depression, and trauma, disability support encompassing advocacy, respite care, and inclusive day services for older people and adults with physical disabilities or complex health needs, independent advice and practical advocacy addressing financial hardship, debt crises, housing insecurity, and intersecting inequalities, family support for marginalised parents and carers facing multiple disadvantages, women's empowerment programs promoting cohesion for ethnic minorities and refugees, and community-led initiatives fostering resilience through mentoring, skills training, and early intervention to prevent poor social outcomes. Prioritizing preventative, person-centred, trauma-informed, and holistic approaches, it backs grassroots services like health advocacy, drop-in centres, helplines, and partnership schemes amplifying resident voices for sustainable impact.

Exclusions encompass capital projects, building works, general appeals, debt repayment, individuals, second-tier training-only activities, and non-local work, rejecting top-down or duplicative efforts lacking community impact. Distinctive for its hyper-local urban focus on Islington's embedded deprivation wards, it elevates grassroots organizations with lived experience leadership, relational depth, and evidence-based practice, favouring those empowering isolated elderly, disabled residents, marginalised families, low-income young people, and ethnic minority communities through convening, direct resources, and advocacy for fairer systems.