The Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund linked to the paper’s previous "Dispossessed’ campaign which raised awareness of and funds for individuals and groups struggling with poverty across the capital.

The campaign has two elements. Firstly, a fundraising drive which originally aimed to raise £1 million in endowment which, with the match, would total over £2 million to support communities across the capital in the future. Secondly to encourage community and voluntary groups across London to apply for  grant funding linked to the following ‘Dispossessed’ themes:

• Training and educating people who have dropped out of mainstream education
• Getting people into work such as through apprenticeship or mentor schemes
• Fighting gangs, knife and gun crime
• Improving mental and physical health and well-being, such as through sports clubs and helping carers
• Addressing other manifestations of poverty such as homelessness, pensioner poverty or the working poor

The campaign reached its target of £1m in only 24 days, and the Dispossessed Fund has now  passed the £7 million pound mark, beating the original fundraising mark many times, and is still growing. More than £1.75 million has been donated by individuals and businesses, matched by government through the Grassroots Challenge, and £1 million has been given away in grants.

Prime Minister David Cameron said:
“This is a remarkable milestone in a campaign that is already changing the lives of people for the better and tackling extreme poverty in our capital city. The Government is proud to have matched the generous donations by readers of the Evening Standard, knowing that every penny will go to community-based schemes that give people the means to help themselves and to help others.”

Major corporate donors include many of the City’s biggest banks such as Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Rothschild, while others contributing five and six figure sums include the Westfield Shopping Centre, Lush owners Mark and Mo Constantine, and Top Shop boss, Sir Philip Green.