Applications open: Lloyds Bank Foundation gives £5.5m to small specialist charities

Small and local charities across Wales can now apply for unrestricted grants of up to £75,000 from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales. It is the first funding opportunity opened since the Foundation launched its ‘Building a Better Future’ strategy earlier this year.

Specialist charities with an annual income between £25,000 and £500,000 can apply for a three-year, unrestricted grant of up to £75,000. The Foundation’s focus is working with small specialist charities tackling complex issues, where its combination of unrestricted funding and capacity building support will have the greatest impact, helping these charities thrive beyond the lifetime of their grant.

Unrestricted grants from Lloyds Bank Foundation will allow charities complete flexibility to use the funding however they see fit, including to cover salaries, rent and utilities, which have become ever more challenging due to the cost-of-living crisis. Through long-term funding, development support and influencing policy and practice, the Foundation helps charities make a life-changing impact, building a more just and compassionate society.

This funding programme incorporates lessons learned from the last five years, which the Foundation recently published in its Lessons for Funder Practice report. These include, how offering unrestricted grants and tailored capacity building support to small frontline charities allowed for stability and growth; how having lighter touch processes and streamlining does not sacrifice due diligence; and how relationships and collaborations unlocked new opportunities and educated the Foundation on when to lead and when to follow.

Amazing Grace Spaces, a charity in Newport, Wales, working with people experiencing homelessness and addiction, was supported by the Foundation with a two-year unrestricted grant of £50,000. Caroline Johnson, Director of Amazing Grace Spaces, explains: “Whilst the funding gave us the breathing space to plan, it was the fantastic non-financial support that gave us the skills to understand what we needed to consider and how to evaluate it – and it has completely transformed where we are as an organisation.”

Paul Streets, CEO of Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, said: “Small and local charities play a vital role in helping people overcome complex issues and barriers, like homelessness and domestic abuse and particularly in these challenging times. We’re passionate about working with these specialist charities because their size and understanding make them best placed to reach, engage and support people and make an impact where others cannot. All of our funding for this programme is unrestricted, so charities can use it as they think best. By providing unrestricted funding as well as access to a range of capacity building support, we help small charities be more impactful in their mission to support people overcome complex issues.” 
Lloyds Bank Foundation will open for this funding programme from 29 November until 3 March 2023. The Foundation will open two additional funding programmes in 2023 for small charities led by and for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and D/deaf and disabled people. These three programmes total £11m, a part of the Foundation’s 2023 investment into small and local charities. For more information, visit www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk