Propel Long-term grants

After two years of working with 131 funded organisations, Propel partners are working on being able to continue funding a selection of funded organisations for up to seven years, to continue their exploration into systems change. 

When funders and equity partners first came together to begin working on Propel, we were interested in learning what it takes to fund long term, systemic change for London’s communities. Two years into the collaboration, much has been learnt about what it takes to both fund change and change funding (as captured in our very first learning report, published last week). We’re very grateful for the insights shared by funded organisations, equity partners and funders throughout this collaboration, which have helped inform this next stage of Propel.

However, making grants of up to seven years means funding fewer organisations for longer, therefore we currently estimate that we will only be able to continue funding around a third of current Propel funded organisations.

Overview

Anyone who has held a Propel grant may express an interest in applying for a Long-term grant. It doesn’t matter who your funder is or was, or what kind of Propel grant.  We will, however continue to prioritise equity with at least 75% of long term funding going to organisations led by and for the communities that they serve, and those with clearly articulated goals around systems change. To see the eligibility criteria, for Propel Long-term grants, please be sure to read the guidance here.

Long-term grants will focus on sustaining your organisation to continue working systemically, engage and support your communities, build partnerships, and deepen your organisational capacity. Propel does not have a one size fits all approach to systems change, and we’ve learned a lot about these different approaches through Propel partners over the last two years. You can see our systems change resource hub here.

How do I apply?

There will be a two stage process to apply for a Propel Long-term Grant; an expression of interest followed by a full application. The deadline for all organisations to apply in the EOI stage is 6th May 2025 at 5pm (this has been updated from midday at the request of applicants).

You can read the full guidance to apply here.

Which cohort am I?

Propel funded organisations of different lengths, who all start and finish their projects at different times. Some of you finish in December 2025, others may run through until autumn 2026 and beyond. We’ve created three separate cohorts on the portal, grouping you depending on your grant end date.

• Cohort 1: Grants ending before 31st March 2026
• Cohort 2: Grants ending between 1st April – 31st August 2026
• Cohort 3: Grants ending after 1st September 2026

You can check which funding cohort your organisation falls into here.

Support

• We hosted a webinar Monday 7th April, you can see the recording of the webinar here. FAQs have been updated since.
• FAQs will be updated regularly, and you can access the FAQs here.
• If you have questions about your application, contact your grant manager.
• Need support with the Portal? Just drop us an email at info@londonpropel.org.uk with a screenshot, and we’ll get right back to you.

Apply here