London child poverty charity, The Childhood Trust, has received funding to create collaborative digital infrastructure, moving anti-poverty work beyond fragmented local efforts to scalable, unified action across the capital.
The Childhood Trust has announced a significant grant from The Permira Foundation to develop an online hub dedicated to connecting organisations and individuals working to combat child poverty across London.
The new hub will launch in early 2026, with the aim of unifying and strengthening a collective response to rising poverty rates. More than a third of children in London live in poverty, without the very basics.
The hub is designed to break down silos, facilitate and expedite knowledge sharing, and foster more effective collaboration between all actors, from charities and volunteers to commercial companies, philanthropists, social workers and public bodies.
"Poverty is not inevitable, but solving it requires every possible individual and organisation to be as effective and connected as possible," said Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive of The Childhood Trust. "Investing in this hub sends a clear signal: we are moving beyond fragmented efforts toward a more powerful, unified movement. This generous grant is our springboard to creating the digital infrastructure that charities working to alleviate child poverty in London tell us is needed to connect, share insights and co-create solutions. Ultimately it will mean that collectively - from strategic large-scale charities to the smallest of community groups on the front line, we will be able to deliver far greater impact for the 700,000 children and families living in poverty in London today."
The online hub will initially feature secure online networking forums, a charity directory and library of resources. It is set to facilitate instant contact and interactions between people and organisations, circulate and summarise new research and insights from credible sources, and provide access to templates on policies and social media supporting smaller charities to build capacity more quickly.
Harika Sihota, Manager at The Permira Foundation commented on the partnership, stating, "We are proud to support The Childhood Trust through our Spark Fund in this ambitious effort to unify and strengthen the response to child poverty. This hub has the potential not just to create efficiencies and avoid duplication of efforts, but also to accelerate impact and create better outcomes for children across London. The Childhood Trust stood out in this space because of the depth and breadth of their vision. We’re delighted to be providing funding and pro bono support behind this initiative and are looking forward to the launch.”
The Childhood Trust has appointed award-winning digital agency, Fat Beehive, to bring this online community space to life, alongside a full redesign of The Childhood Trust’s website.
“We’re proud to partner with The Childhood Trust on this vital project,” said Tom Moreton, Founder of Fat Beehive. “Supporting charities to deliver exceptional digital experiences is at the heart of everything we do – and it’s what we’ve been delivering consistently for 27 years. This work helps organisations reach people faster, with clarity and care. Our initial designs focus on ease of use and intuitive navigation, so organisations can quickly find what they need and connect seamlessly. Our goal is a secure, dynamic environment that acts as a catalyst for powerful collaboration.”
The Childhood Trust is London’s child poverty charity, dedicated to children and young people living in poverty in the UK’s capital. We highlight the voices and experiences of children living in poverty and engage them to shape our strategy. Through our grant-making and volunteer community outreach programme, we support the health, wellbeing and safety of children. Our vision is that every child is prepared for life, no matter their background.
