City Bridge Trust and UBS have awarded more than £2.18m through their Stepping Stones social investment programme since its launch last year.

The Stepping Stones Fund has recently awarded a total of £700,000 to 17 London charities, boosting the total number of organisations to have received awards from the fund to 49.

City Bridge Trust launched the Stepping Stones Fund in 2015 to support charities and social enterprises in London who wished to access the social investment market. Funding helps organisations develop their ideas, bring in new technical assistance and get products ready for market.

Announcing the latest figures, City Bridge Trust said the fund’s success is underpinned by a partnership between the grant maker and UBS.

The partnership combines the trust’s grant making expertise, funding offered by UBS, and the skills and insights of the bank’s corporate volunteers.

City Bridge Trust chief grants officer David Farnsworth said a large amount of funding had been provided to a range of organisations through the latest batch of grants.

“We understand it takes hard work to develop a new market and the simple provision of capital is rarely enough to encourage the quality and diversity of product to emerge. We are thrilled that we are already helping so many projects through the fund.”

Nick Wright, managing director corporate responsibility and community affairs at UBS, said the high level of demand on the fund highlights the need for its existence.

"UBS is pleased to be supporting grantees not just through the provision of much-needed capital but also the skills and expertise of UBS volunteers which has proven to be a valuable experience for all involved,” Wright said. “We look forward to continuing to develop this nascent market and to help bridge the funding gap for charities preparing for social investment."

A full list of grant recipients is available here.

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