City Parochial Foundation 1891–1991

The City Parochial Foundation is the oldest of Britain's major philanthropic foundations. Unlike most of the others, however, it was not set up by a wealthy individual, but was established by an Act of Parliament which amalgamated the small endowments of over a hundred parishes in the City of London; its area of benefit is also limited to that of Greater London. This book describes the long and ultimately successful struggle to establish the Foundation in the face of numerous vested interests, and charts the first century of its history. It examines the management of its endowment, which consists largely of property in the City of London, and describes its grant-making activities from an early preoccupation with support for the London polytechnics to the point where it has become one of the main sources of non-statutory support for a multitude of voluntary organisations assisting the poor of London.