New London Mayor launches new London Fund

Boris Johnson, the newly elected London Mayor, has announced his proposed Mayor’s Fund for London and the names of the advisers who will join the team.
 
“My job as Mayor is not just to sort out our housing and transport problems, but also to champion and expand this kind of voluntary sector activity. It means setting up Mayor’s Fund for London, and using the LDA to match-fund donations,” he wrote in London’s Evening Standard newspaper this week, referring to the escalation of youth violence and programmes that support excluded youth, such as the East Side Young Leaders Academy and the London Boxing Academy.

Individuals who have agreed to join the Fund’s advisory team include Bob Diamond, President of Barclays Banks plc, Sir Trevor Chinn and Wasfi Kani OBE. They will work with the Mayor, and other team members to be announced, to implement Johnson’s plan to generate a long-term pool of funds to support the work of community groups.

The Fund will aim to raise millions of pounds from the City and intends to invest in a wide range of voluntary sector projects, including academic mentoring, competitive sport, music and drama.