Introduction
Foundation for Future London is an independent charitable grantmaker and community development organisation established in 2015 to ensure that people and communities in East London benefit from the economic, cultural and social opportunities created around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the East Bank cultural and education district.
The Foundation concentrates much of its work in the London boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, connecting grassroots organisations and residents with funding, cultural institutions, businesses and opportunities in education, employment, entrepreneurship, arts, heritage, digital innovation and creative placemaking.
Foundation for Future London is a genuine grantmaking charity. The Charity Commission identifies grantmaking as its main method of delivering its charitable purposes, and the Foundation provides grants to both organisations and, through certain programmes, individuals.
History and Background
Foundation for Future London was created as part of the long-term legacy associated with the regeneration of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Charity Commission describes it as an independent charity established by the Mayor of London and the London Legacy Development Corporation, commonly known as LLDC, to ensure that communities benefit from and continue to influence the economic and social value generated by East Bank.
The organisation was incorporated on 11 March 2015 and registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 17 March 2015. It operates as a charitable company under charity number 1160948 and company number 09483822.
The Foundation’s history is therefore closely connected to the transformation of Stratford and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a major centre for culture, education, innovation, creativity and employment.
East Bank and the Olympic Legacy
East Bank is a major cultural and educational development located at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Its institutional partners include:
- BBC Music Studios
- London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London
- Sadler’s Wells East
- University College London
- V&A East
The wider East Bank scheme has received £385 million from the Mayor of London and £151 million from the UK Government. Westfield Stratford City committed a further £10 million for community projects providing skills, employment, learning, entrepreneurship and creative opportunities.
Foundation for Future London has played a central role in connecting this large-scale investment with communities in the surrounding East London boroughs.
Mission and Purpose
Foundation for Future London seeks to create fairer access to opportunities generated by regeneration and economic development.
Its current mission includes:
- Becoming a leading East London organisation for partnership building, investment and programme design.
- Creating meaningful economic opportunities for local residents.
- Leading participatory co-design and capacity-building approaches.
- Using fundraising and grantmaking to strengthen inclusive local economies.
- Connecting communities around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with grassroots organisations throughout East London.
The Foundation emphasizes that programmes should be created with communities rather than simply for them.
This means local residents, organisations, young people and people with lived experience are increasingly involved in programme design, grant decisions and evaluation.
Strategic Plan 2024–2029
Foundation for Future London’s Strategic Plan 2024–2029 identifies four major priorities:
- Investing and Connecting
- Our Boroughs and their Communities
- Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and East Bank Communities
- Local to Global
The strategy places inclusion, access, co-design and collaboration at the centre of the Foundation’s work.
An independent consultation undertaken as part of the strategy found that 86.2% of respondents believed the Foundation had effectively bridged the gap between local communities and institutions by creating diverse opportunities.
Areas of Work
Foundation for Future London funds and develops activities covering areas such as:
- Arts and culture
- Heritage
- Skills and jobs
- Education and lifelong learning
- Youth development
- Business and entrepreneurship
- Digital innovation
- Creative ideas
- Community development
- Diversity and inclusion
- Health and wellbeing
- Environmental sustainability
- Public realm and placemaking
- Collaboration and community leadership
Its programmes are particularly designed to reach people and communities that have historically experienced barriers to investment and opportunity.
Governance and Structure
Foundation for Future London is structured as a charitable company limited by guarantee.
Its trustees are responsible for strategic direction, financial oversight, governance, risk management and ensuring that charitable resources are used effectively.
The Foundation has no commercial shareholders or private owners.
It also has a wholly owned trading subsidiary, Future London Enterprises Limited, which exists to raise funds for the Foundation’s charitable purposes.
Patron
HRH The Princess Royal serves as Patron of Foundation for Future London.
Her involvement has included participation in Foundation events such as the official launch of the UK Culture Exchange programme in June 2024.
Board of Trustees
The Foundation’s official website currently identifies Sir David Bell and Baroness Lola Young as Co-Chairs.
Other current board members include:
- Abul Khoyer Hussain
- Andrew Adedipe
- Anne Mullins
- Ciara Solmi
- Hal Khanom
- Joseph Lyons
- Lauren Gee
- Louise Jeffreys
- Sophie Beagles
- Vaibhav Negi
- Charlotte Thomson
- Stephen Burr
- Christopher West
Stephen Burr and Christopher West joined the Board in March 2026, bringing additional experience in finance, governance and strategic leadership.
Board Committees
The Foundation currently identifies two principal Board working groups:
- Communications, Marketing and PR Committee
- Finance and Fundraising & Audit and Risk Committee
These structures support financial oversight, fundraising, risk management, governance and communications.
Executive Leadership
Sarah Nelson currently serves as Chief Executive Officer.
The official team also includes senior staff responsible for:
- Fundraising and development
- Finance
- Programmes and grants
- Communications
- Governance and events
- Corporate partnerships
The Foundation also operates a growing Community Ambassador network representing and promoting East London communities.
Financial Structure
Foundation for Future London relies heavily on philanthropic and partnership funding.
It seeks financial support from:
- Corporations
- Charitable foundations
- Philanthropic partners
- Individual donors
- Strategic programme partners
For the financial year ending 31 March 2025, the Charity Commission reported total income of approximately £1.45 million and expenditure of approximately £1.28 million.
Income included approximately £1.23 million from donations and legacies, £125,000 from trading activities and £91,480 from investments. Approximately £1.10 million of expenditure was classified as charitable activity.
Grants and Funding
Grantmaking is central to the Foundation’s work.
Its grants are primarily designed to support local people and organisations in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
Funding helps communities:
- Gain new skills.
- Access employment and training.
- Develop creative projects.
- Start or grow businesses.
- Build partnerships and networks.
- Improve community spaces.
- Participate in arts and culture.
- Address inequality and social challenges.
The Foundation uses both traditional grant competitions and more participatory funding models.
Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund
The Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund is the Foundation’s largest and most significant grantmaking programme to date.
Supported by Westfield Stratford City, the five-year programme invested £10 million into communities across:
- Newham
- Tower Hamlets
- Hackney
- Waltham Forest
The Fund was designed to create employment, learning, training and educational opportunities through arts, culture, innovation, creative industries and placemaking.
Creative Futures Small Grants
The Small Grant Scheme provided grants of up to £5,000.
It was open to individuals and nonprofit organisations delivering activities that contributed to the programme’s objectives.
Funding supported activities related to learning, young people, entrepreneurship, creative development and community opportunities.
Creative Futures Medium Grants
Medium Grants provided funding of up to £15,000.
Applications were welcomed from schools and nonprofit organisations delivering projects across areas such as:
- Arts and culture
- Heritage
- Skills and jobs
- Community development
- Business and startups
- Digital activities
- Education
- Health and wellbeing
- Diversity and inclusion
Creative Futures Large Grants
Large Grants provided up to £50,000 for schools and nonprofit organisations.
Partnership or consortium approaches were particularly important for the Large Grant Scheme, encouraging organisations to work collaboratively rather than deliver isolated activities.
Capital Grant Scheme
The Creative Futures Capital Grant Scheme supported investment in equipment, organisational development and community infrastructure.
In its second year, the programme awarded £268,121 to 11 projects.
In its third year, it awarded £786,000 to 11 projects.
One early major capital investment supported The Talent House at 3 Sugar House Lane, creating a creative hub where dance and music artists can develop skills, collaborate and produce new work.
The Capital Grant Scheme is now closed.
COLLABORATE: SAFER SPACES
The final phase of the Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund included COLLABORATE: SAFER SPACES.
Four teams were selected to receive up to £50,000 each in flexible funding to develop collaborative responses to the need for safer and more inclusive spaces in East London.
The programme emphasizes:
- Collaboration.
- Equity.
- Shared decision-making.
- Flexible funding.
- Grassroots leadership.
- Organisational resilience.
- Community safety.
- Long-term partnership development.
Rather than requiring organisations to arrive with completely finalized project plans, the Foundation works with selected teams through a co-commissioning process.
Empowering Safer Spaces
The Empowering Safer Spaces campaign began in 2024 to understand what safe spaces mean to young people and under-resourced or marginalized East London communities.
Activities have included:
- Community consultation.
- Freedom of Information research.
- A young people’s language workshop.
- Public surveys.
- Panel discussions.
- Collaborative programme design.
The Foundation’s longer-term ambition is to develop a sustainable network of community-led safer spaces across the four Olympic legacy boroughs.
NHS Race & Health Observatory Community Grant Programme
In 2026, Foundation for Future London partnered with the NHS Race & Health Observatory to deliver a new £400,000 Community Grant Programme Pilot tackling racial and ethnic inequalities in health and wellbeing across England.
The programme contains two grant streams.
Perinatal Mental Health Grants Pilot
The Perinatal Mental Health Grants Pilot has total funding of £250,000.
Individual grants range from £10,000 to £15,000.
It focuses on organisations working with racialised communities during pregnancy and the early years of parenthood in:
- West Midlands
- South West
- Yorkshire and Humber
Communities Small Grants Pilot
The Communities Small Grants Pilot has total funding of £150,000, with grants ranging from £5,000 to £10,000.
It targets grassroots organisations in:
- East London
- North East England
- Midlands
Applicants must generally be formally constituted nonprofit organisations with annual income below £150,000, led by and working with racialised communities.
The current Register of Interest deadline is 31 July 2026, with invited full applications expected between 10 August and 11 September 2026.
Health Equity Priorities
The NHS Race & Health Observatory programme seeks to:
- Strengthen community-led action.
- Promote equity.
- Address racial and ethnic health inequalities.
- Support prevention and early intervention.
- Increase community leadership and influence.
- Strengthen grassroots organisational capacity.
- Learn how future anti-racist funding can become more accessible and equitable.
This programme demonstrates Foundation for Future London’s expansion beyond arts and creative placemaking into health equity and community resilience.
Capacity Building Programme
The Foundation does not only distribute grants.
Its Capacity Building Programme provides free practical support to people and organisations in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
Support includes:
- Workshops.
- Financial literacy.
- Accounting guidance.
- Governance.
- Impact reporting.
- Mentoring.
- Best-practice advice.
- Peer learning.
- Community networking.
The programme is designed to improve the long-term strength of grassroots organisations, including those that may not yet have substantial experience applying for funding.
UK Culture Exchange
The UK Culture Exchange connects young people across different parts of the United Kingdom through arts, cultural and digital-media training.
The programme includes:
- 15 interactive learning workshops.
- Exchange visits.
- Social-enterprise training.
- Support to develop individual projects.
- Access to grants.
- Mentoring.
- Networking.
- Additional tailored assistance.
The programme’s pilot connected East London participants with young people in Nottingham and Bradford.
UK Culture Exchange Impact
Foundation for Future London reports that among participants:
- 100% accessed paid work experience.
- 90% reported improved confidence in creative practice and entrepreneurship.
- 100% reported higher future aspirations.
- 95% increased confidence in their own potential and initiative.
These are programme-reported impact figures.
Foundations Programme
The Foundations Programme was developed through a four-year partnership with the City of London.
It focused on collaborative cultural programming involving:
- Creative education.
- Lifelong learning.
- Employment.
- Local cultural infrastructure.
- Community-led creativity.
In 2020, the Connecting People and Places Fund under this programme awarded 22 grants and 10 small development grants.
Grants of up to £5,000 helped people and organisations across the four East London boroughs deliver cultural and creative projects.
Examples of Foundations Programme Projects
Supported projects included:
- Creative Climate Ideas Spark Sessions.
- Phone to Film.
- SMILE-ing Boys Project.
- Be Inspired: Young Women.
- Green Forest Gate.
- Generation Rebellion.
- Newham Poetry House.
- Black History Month murals.
- Zero-waste skills initiatives.
- Food startup acceleration.
- Youth public art projects.
The diversity of these projects reflects the Foundation’s broad understanding of culture as a tool for social, educational and economic development.
Co-Creating Meaningful Change with Care Leavers
In 2025, the Foundation launched Co-Creating Meaningful Change with Care Leavers.
The initiative puts care-experienced young people at the centre of decisions affecting their lives.
Its activities include:
- Building leadership skills.
- Strengthening confidence.
- Supporting peer advocates.
- Developing community leadership.
- Creating inclusive spaces for discussion.
- Connecting care leavers with mentoring and employment opportunities.
The programme emphasizes that young people with lived experience should help shape solutions rather than simply receive services designed by others.
Community Ambassadors Programme
The Community Ambassadors Programme was launched in 2024 to increase direct community involvement in Foundation activities.
Ambassadors help:
- Represent East London communities.
- Promote grant opportunities.
- Build networks.
- Support fundraising.
- Communicate community priorities.
- Connect the Foundation with local residents and organisations.
The programme is led by singer and social entrepreneur Tiwa King.
Ambassadors receive training, networking opportunities, professional-development support and financial compensation for agreed work.
Westfield Better Futures
In 2026, Foundation for Future London and Westfield Stratford City launched Westfield Better Futures, a new one-year sustainability, skills and community-impact programme.
The initiative builds on the £10 million Creative Futures partnership and focuses on areas including:
- Net zero.
- Renewable energy.
- Environmental science.
- Circular fashion.
- Climate justice.
- Recycling.
- Clean technology.
- Sustainable supply chains.
- Green skills.
- School-to-career pathways.
Activities are expected to include practical workshops, cultural programming, skills development and community collaboration.
Funding Model and Partnerships
Foundation for Future London uses a partnership-based funding model.
Major supporters and programme partners have included:
- Westfield Stratford City.
- City of London Corporation.
- NHS Race & Health Observatory.
- East Bank institutions.
- Corporate partners.
- Charitable foundations.
- Philanthropic donors.
Westfield Stratford City’s £10 million contribution has been particularly significant in developing the Foundation’s large-scale community grant portfolio.
Who Can Apply for Funding?
Eligibility varies considerably between funding programmes.
Depending on the specific scheme, eligible applicants can include:
- Registered charities.
- Community groups.
- Unincorporated associations.
- Community Interest Companies.
- Charitable Incorporated Organisations.
- Social enterprises.
- Schools.
- Faith groups delivering non-religious community activities.
- Individuals.
- Partnerships and consortiums.
Many programmes prioritize locally rooted organisations and people working in Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
Priority Communities
Foundation for Future London places strong emphasis on equality, diversity and inclusion.
Grant programmes have actively encouraged applications supporting or led by communities including:
- Black, Asian and ethnically diverse people.
- Disabled people.
- LGBTQ+ communities.
- Children and young people.
- Older people.
- People experiencing unemployment or low income.
- People with mental-health conditions.
- People facing housing difficulties.
- Refugees.
- Working-class communities.
Current health-equity funding additionally prioritizes organisations led by and working alongside racialised communities.
Impact and Scale
Foundation for Future London currently reports that it has:
- Supported 400+ grassroots organisations.
- Engaged 1,900+ young people.
- Provided 17,000+ lifelong-learning opportunities.
- Invested £11 million in local communities.
Its About page also reports that more than 35,000 people have accessed training, jobs, youth support and entrepreneurial opportunities through its programmes.
These figures are reported by the Foundation and relate to different measures of participation and programme reach.
Impact of the Creative Futures Fund
The Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund alone has supported and catalysed the creative journeys and opportunities of more than 19,000 people across East London, according to Foundation reporting.
Its impact extends beyond direct financial grants by combining:
- Funding.
- Capacity building.
- Mentoring.
- Training.
- Networking.
- Institutional partnerships.
- Community participation in funding decisions.
Examples of Funded Projects
Recent case studies from the Creative Futures Fund include:
- Sirlute – Fashion Fusion
- Future Hackney – Dalston’s Radical History
- Deafroots – SoundSteps: Building Futures Together
Other funded initiatives have supported youth arts, community spaces, music, dance, heritage, digital media, entrepreneurship and employment.
Safer Spaces Example
Through COLLABORATE: SAFER SPACES, Foundation for Future London supported a collaboration between You Press and The Centre for Developmental Disabilities CIC.
The project works with Somali young people and disabled community members using creativity, leadership and shared learning to improve inclusion and create safer community environments.
Research Funding
Foundation for Future London is not primarily an academic research foundation.
It does not operate a permanent open programme for:
- Basic scientific research.
- Laboratory research.
- Academic fellowships.
- University research centres.
However, research and evidence can form part of its community development work, particularly through:
- Community research.
- Impact evaluation.
- Participatory research.
- Health inequalities.
- Public-space research.
- Social policy.
- Creative placemaking.
- Programme evaluation.
Academic institutions can also participate as partners where a funding programme permits it.
Understanding Foundation for Future London as a Donor
Foundation for Future London is best classified as an independent charitable grantmaker, community investor and programme-development organisation.
Unlike foundations that primarily write grants and have limited involvement afterward, Foundation for Future London combines funding with:
- Programme design.
- Co-production.
- Capacity building.
- Mentoring.
- Networking.
- Community leadership.
- Institutional partnerships.
- Evaluation and learning.
Its grantmaking increasingly seeks to shift decision-making power toward communities themselves.
Geographic Focus
The Foundation’s strongest geographic focus remains:
- Hackney.
- Newham.
- Tower Hamlets.
- Waltham Forest.
- Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
- East Bank.
Some programmes now extend beyond East London.
For example, the NHS Race & Health Observatory Community Grant Programme operates in several English regions, while UK Culture Exchange has connected East London participants with communities elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Conclusion
Foundation for Future London is an independent grantmaking charity created in 2015 by the Mayor of London and the London Legacy Development Corporation to ensure that East London communities benefit from the regeneration and cultural development surrounding Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and East Bank.
Registered as charity number 1160948 and company number 09483822, it has developed from an Olympic legacy organisation into a significant community funder working across culture, education, employment, entrepreneurship, youth development, health equity, diversity, sustainability and creative placemaking.
Its flagship Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund invested £10 million across Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, with grants ranging historically from small awards of up to £5,000 to collaborative and large grants of up to £50,000, alongside substantial capital investment.
The Foundation is continuing to broaden its grantmaking. In 2026, its £400,000 partnership with the NHS Race & Health Observatory is supporting grassroots organisations addressing racial and ethnic health inequalities, while Westfield Better Futures introduces a new focus on sustainability and green skills.
With more than 400 grassroots organisations supported and £11 million invested in local communities, Foundation for Future London has established itself as an important source of funding, capacity building and partnership support for grassroots and community-led organisations, particularly across East London.
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