Funder Profile

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales

Who are we?

The Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales gives grants to underfunded registered charities that work to improve the lives of people in local communities, especially those who are disadvantaged or disabled. We welcome applications from all sections of the community, especially small underfunded charities and our main grant-making programmes are tailored to address essential local community needs.

Formed in 1986, the Foundation for England and Wales has donated over £165 million since 1987 and our covenanted income from the Lloyds TSB Group for 2004 was £22.7 million. We are independent of the Group, and twelve Trustees decide our policies.

How do we work?

In order to reach people in local communities we have Trustees and staff based in each of the nine regions of England, and in Wales. Most of our funds (75%) are given to charities working at a local or regional level, and we decide the regions’ budgets on the basis of population, taking account of deprivation. Our regional structure enables us to respond effectively to priority local needs. A smaller but significant proportion of our income is given to charities that benefit people across the whole of England and Wales.

What are our funding priorities?

We have specific funding priorities within each of the ten regions and for the England and Wales-wide grants programmes. Full details of our specific funding priorities for 2005 are available on our website at www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk.

The Trustees regularly review changing social needs and from time to time identify and support additional specific areas to focus on within their overall aims.

What are our funding programmes?

We have three programmes of grant-making which may be applied for regionally or nationally, depending on the geographical coverage of the work:

1. Community programme
This is our mainstream grants programme; the vast majority of applications fall within this programme – 88.5% of the funds distributed in 2004. The average regional grant size was £5,770 and the average England and Wales-wide grant was £15,140.

2. Collaborative programme
The Trustees believe the Foundation is well-placed to facilitate new ways of working in the sector and to promote the exchange of ideas, knowledge and good practice. The Trustees are keen to identify and support collaborative work within the sector and with public agencies where appropriate. The kind of work we wish to support includes: projects enhancing co-ordination, co-operation and collaboration between charities to improve the sector’s effectiveness, and the evaluation of work undertaken. In 2004, approximately 7% of the funds were distributed through this programme. The average grant size in 2004 was £21,272.

3. New initiatives
A proportion of the Foundation’s income is set aside to support new initiatives which demonstrate innovation, and where there is a clear intention to extend successfully piloted projects across England and Wales as a whole. In 2004, approximately 3% of the funds were distributed through this programme.

What types of work will we fund?

We support a wide range of activities which fall within the broad areas of Social and Community Needs, and Education and Training. We recognise the need for core funding to enable tried and tested ways of working to continue. In 2004, 66% of our funding was given for core funding, including salary costs. Most of our grants are one-off payments but we also consider granting money over two years. We have a policy of reducing the level of support in the second year.

The following types of activity are generally eligible for consideration, but this list is not exhaustive and should be used only as a guide (please ring us if you are unsure if your application will be eligible):

• Advice services for people in any kind of need
• activities which encourage people to participate in and make a positive contribution to life in their community
• community centres and activities for disadvantaged or disabled people of any age
• services and support for people with disabilities and their carers
• services and support for people with physical or mental health needs
• activities which encourage disadvantaged or disabled people to participate in cultural activities
• lifelong learning
• reading and writing skills
• pre-school education
• promoting skills that people need to live independently
• training for disabled people, including training for the workplace
• training for disadvantaged people, to improve their chances of getting a job.

Contact us

We strongly advise that applicants contact us for guidance in the initial stages of your application, and well before completing the application form. We will guide applicants in completing the application in relation to how a proposal fits our current priorities in a particular region or across England and Wales, and how much money it would be realistic to request.

For advice about local and regional funding, please contact the appropriate regional office. For regional office details, an application form and a copy of our guidelines see our website: www.lloydstsbfoundations.org.uk or contact our Central Office (0870 411 1223).

For advice about funding for work that benefits people throughout England and Wales, please contact the England and Wales team. There is a separate application form for England and Wales-wide funding, available either from the England and Wales team (020 7398 1712/13) or from our website.

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