Two independent charitable trusts, which between them have tackled poverty and inequality in London for more than a century, are to amalgamate.

City Parochial Foundation and its sister fund Trust for London, which collectively give out over £6 million a year, will amalgamate on 30 June 2010. The new organisation will be known as Trust for London. The governance of the charity will remain the same, as will the staffing. It will continue to make around 150 grants annually to voluntary and community groups in the capital, under very similar funding priorities.

Bringing the two funds together is intended to make the Trust more efficient and flexible, as well as to end confusion among grant applicants about their different priorities. The mission of the amalgamated organisation will be tackling poverty and inequality in London.

“We are proud of our history, but we wanted a name that better reflected our role in London in the 21st century,” says Bharat Mehta, Chief Executive of Trust for London. “The new Trust for London will distribute just as much funding as the two former organisations combined. It will continue to focus on the most marginalised, through our grants programme, special initiatives like the Living Wage campaign and innovative research such as London’s Poverty Profile.”

City Parochial Foundation was created in 1891 through a Royal Commission out of endowments to the City of London church parishes. It played a leading role in the creation of London’s polytechnics, the Old Vic and Sadler’s Wells theatres and formerly was the trustee of the Chelsea Psychic Garden.

Trust for London was established by City Parochial Foundation from a £10 million endowment provided by the government following the abolition of the Greater London Council in 1986.

The next deadline for grant applications is 5 October 2010. New guidelines are available from 1 July.

Visit the Trust for London website here.