20 Fenchurch Street Legacy Fund

Improving employment prospects for people living in the East End

The 20 Fench urch Street Legacy Fund (20FSLF) a partnership between Land Securities, Canary Wharf Group, East End Community Foundation (EECF) and 20 Fenchurch Street occupiers has made inaugural grants to support five community groups in East London. In total, £96,436 was awarded enabling local community organisations to deliver projects that support local residents into employment. Organisations successfully awarded a grant are Circle Sports, Leaders in the Community, Bethnal Green Spear Trust, Fight For Peace, Leaders in Community, and Streets of Growth.

Tracey Walsh, Chief Executive, East End Community Foundation, says “Many local people struggle to access the economic opportunities on their doorstep and more often than not this is due to a skills gap. Being able to provide funding to activities that support people into employment is really satisfying. The 20 Fenchurch Street Legacy Fund is a pioneering model of collaborative philanthropy and we are excited about its potential impact, especially to help ease the skills gap in East London.”

Paul Hewitt, General Manager, 20 Fenchurch Street, says “The 20FSLF has the potential to make a real and lasting difference to people from some of the most deprived areas of London. We have already had a great start to 2016, securing further support and donations, and look forward to continuing the positive impact on the local community.”

Andrew Mathews, Trustee, Bethnal Green Spear Trust said of the grant, "The Bethnal Green Spear Trust was set up in 2014. It runs a Spear Centre, supporting 16-24 year old NEETs enter long-term employment and education. The grant from 20FSLF will be instrumental as we move forward. The fund will enable targeted work with local young people as they begin their careers, which will have a tangible impact on their whole working life. Simply put, the grant will transform the lives of many young people in Bethnal Green and East London."

Diane Peters, Director, Streets of Growth said of the award, “The generous support from the 20FSLF is invaluable. The funding and potential partnerships will assist Streets of Growth
to develop and expand its model and to reach out to the most disengaged young people ensuring that through “Earn your Vision”, [our] employability and enterprise programme we are able to support young people to develop the skills and confidence to gain the employment and career progression to break the cycle of poverty and harm.”

Alex Le Vey, Head of Partnerships, Fight for Peace, said, “Fight for Peace exists to ensure that all young people are able to realise their full potential. Our grant is fully funding two specific vocational courses that will see young people gain new skills and earn meaningful qualifications. The two courses, delivered at the Fight for Peace Academy, will support young people to work in the Security and Aviation industries. Both are relatively expensive and would therefore have been out of reach for many of the young people wanting to access them. We are very confident a significant proportion of course participants will enter into employment following these courses.”

About 20 Fenchurch Street Legacy Fund
20 Fenchurch Street Legacy Fund donor patrons are East End Community Foundation, Canary Wharf Group, Land Securities, Liberty Specialty Markets, CBRE and RSA Insurance Group. In 2015 Canary Wharf Group committed a further £25k of match funding. Other signature donors are: Willerby Landscapes Ltd, Portico, Principle Cleaning, D2E International, Ultimate Security and Bywaters. The 20 Fenchurch Street Legacy Fund awards grants of up to £20,000 to deserving projects and services in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and the City of London which will directly support people into work. The next deadline for applications will be announced shortly.

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