The City of London Corporation's Inspiring London Through Culture (ILTC) Fund has awarded £74,209 to nine cultural projects for the 2025/26 financial year. The fund, which supports initiatives benefiting communities within the City of London, saw a 20% increase in applications compared to the previous year, with 30 proposals submitted for this funding round.
The ILTC received 30 applications for its latest funding round. Despite a budget of £73,333, a slight overspend was covered by funds reallocated to the programme. The grants will support a diverse range of projects, including festivals, workshops, and performances.
Projects were selected based on four core criteria: promoting access to the City's cultural offer for all; enhancing London's creative future through innovative practice and skills development; delivering positive social impact through culture and heritage in the City; and supporting the development of the City as a Destination City. Priority was given to proposals that engaged with residents and workers in the Square Mile, attracted new audiences, animated local spaces, encouraged access to heritage, improved health and wellbeing, utilised technology, highlighted environmental issues, built organisational capacity, supported entrepreneurship, fostered innovative partnerships, or demonstrated match-funding.
Notable recipients include Invisible Flock Co., which received £10,000 for a festival combining art, architecture, and sustainability; the VOCES8 Foundation, awarded £5,800 for interactive workshops and a concert for children and families; and The Jewish Square Mile Foundation, which secured £10,000 for a history festival exploring the medieval Jewish City.
Other funded projects include Urban Learners Community CIC's cultural heritage walking trails, Phosphoros Theatre's anniversary festival for young refugee artists, Koro Productions Ltd's immersive performance market, Queer East CIC's film screenings at the Barbican Centre, Innercity Films' photography and storytelling workshops, and Clio's Company's drama workshops for children.
The average grant value increased from £7,610 in 2024/25 to £8,245 in 2025/26, reflecting increased operational costs for arts projects. The approval rate for the ILTC decreased from 40% to 30% due to the growing number of applications and a constant funding pot.
The ILTC fund is set to be reviewed and aligned with the City of London's new Cultural Strategy. The Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee will work with the Culture Team on this review, with a substantive update to be provided in due course. While the City's Estate has an annual budget of £220,000 split across three funding programmes, specific budget allocations for future ILTC financial years beyond 2025/26 are not detailed.
All ILTC grants are managed and monitored by Funding Managers within the Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee to mitigate risks in project delivery through ongoing advice and support. The ILTC Panel assesses each proposal's alignment with the fund's criteria, outputs, outcomes, value for money, and equality considerations.
The long-term goals of the ILTC fund include promoting access to culture for all, delivering positive social impact, and fostering increased community cohesion. The fund aims to create diverse, engaged communities and a vibrant, thriving destination, aligning with the City Corporation's Corporate Plan.
Grants are awarded to cultural projects and services delivered for the benefit of communities or beneficiaries within the City of London. Projects must either have most or all benefits delivered within the geographic boundaries of the City of London or engage with the City of London's resident and/or worker communities, regardless of location. See the public reports pack for more details.