Our partnership with ActionFunder to deliver measurable social value

Wednesday 03 December 2025

We are delighted to announce a new partnership with ActionFunder, giving London’s built environment sector a faster, smarter way to deliver and evidence meaningful social value.

ActionFunder is an AI-powered community grant management platform that helps organisations design funds, distribute grants and track real-time impact through data-driven reporting.

As pressure grows on developers, local authorities and investors to demonstrate genuine community benefit, this partnership offers a practical and scalable solution for turning commitments into visible outcomes on the ground. Launched on Giving Tuesday, the collaboration will support London-wide efforts to improve transparency, rebuild trust in development and accelerate the delivery of impactful community initiatives.

Nick McKeogh, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of NLA, said:

“Across London, organisations are facing increasing pressure to demonstrate how development genuinely benefits local communities – whether through S106, CIL or wider social value commitments. Yet we hear time and again that the current process is too slow, too fragmented and too resource-heavy, and that many smaller community groups struggle to access funding in the first place. That’s a challenge for the whole sector, not just individual organisations. The sector needs practical tools like ActionFunder that help close this gap. At NLA, we are excited to see our members embrace the technology, turning commitments into real outcomes, and enabling us to demonstrate the collective positive impact of our sector.”

NLA members already using ActionFunder have distributed £1.74m in funding to nearly 500 projects, benefitting more than 835,000 people.

By championing ActionFunder across our broad, cross-sector network, NLA aims to provide a shared, trusted route for built environment organisations to convert community commitments into measurable local outcomes. The platform reduces administrative burden while offering a clearer, more transparent way to report impact back to local authorities, communities and stakeholders.

Mark Shearer, Founder and CEO of ActionFunder, said:

“We are super excited to be partnering with NLA to enable more of the development industry to walk the talk on their social ambitions and showcase the impact they are having. NLA is a fantastic and influential organisation and one we have huge respect for. Working together, it’s the perfect set-up (and time) to move the dial on social issues and outcomes that matter. With the formal launch event in March, we're looking forward to helping London’s development industry show how they #GiveAF.”

The partnership will formally launch with an event at The London Centre at Guildhall on 5 March 2026, bringing together senior leaders from across London’s built environment, alongside ActionFunder partners and clients. The event will showcase practical examples of how the sector can better utilise funding and data to deliver measurable social value, and explore opportunities for joint research, including work on the Apprenticeship Levy aligned with NLA’s wider skills agenda.