Lloyds Bank Foundation Local collaborations programme

This programme, which offers flexible funding over two years and development support, aims to help strengthen collaborations and build capabilities and confidence to achieve change within a local or regional area.

The funding is intended to support impactful collaborations that are led by small and local charities that have the specialist knowledge, compassion, and drive to keep fighting alongside people and communities for long lasting change.

The funding is for influencing work that aligns with at least one of the following themes:

• Making the social security system work better for those facing the greatest challenges.
• Making sure people facing complex issues have access to suitable accommodation.
• Improving support and services for asylum seekers and refugees.

There is particular interest in work that addresses inequalities within these three themes.

Priority will be given to applications that show that lived experience is centred in the collaboration’s design and delivery.

The funding can cover all costs relating to the proposed influencing work, to support collaboration and to support people with lived experience to engage in the work. This includes staff costs, activity and materials costs and core costs where they are overheads clearly related to the proposed project (e.g. CEO/senior management time, premises, management, finance and administration costs etc).

This could include:

• Additional capacity for existing or new roles such as to co-ordinate the collaboration; engage with stakeholders and those you are trying to influence; support people with lived experience.
• Costs of bringing the collaboration together, and meetings with stakeholders.
• Backfill of roles or payments to support smaller organisations to be involved.

Who can apply

Local collaborations or partnerships that are led by small charities can apply for funding:

• Established collaborations, networks, consortia that have partnership agreements in place.
• New collaborations where partners have recently come together around a local issue. This does not require a partnership agreement at the time of applying but requires one to be in place before release of grant payment.

The applicant organisation must meet the following criteria:

• Be registered as a charity or a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO) with the Charity Commission with an annual income between £25,000 and £1 million.
• Operate mainly in England and Wales.
• Have at least one set of annual accounts showing as ‘received’ on the Charity Commission website, covering a 12-month operating period.
• Have a Board of at least three unrelated trustees in place, with their names appearing on the Charity Commission records.
• Have a bank account in the name of the organisation with unrelated signatories. If the application is successful, the grant must be paid into this account.
• The majority of people in positions of power (trustees, the CEO and senior managers) must not be related nor live at the same address.
• Have a safeguarding policy and a Designated Safeguarding Lead/Officer (DSL/O) who is trained to Level 3 (England) or Level C (Wales).
• Have Public Liability Insurance in place.
• Be an independent organisation. The funder will look at any formal associations’ applicants have with other organisations, parent bodies, or group structures.
• Not incorporate religious activity as part of their work unless the charity was established to support people of a particular faith.
• Not be applying for funding to provide frontline/direct support or to pilot new work.
• Ensure that there are a minimum of three organisations in the collaboration (including their charity).
• Ensure their collaboration’s influencing work aligns with at least one of the influencing priorities: accommodation, social security or support for refugees and asylum seekers.

Value

£100,000 over two years

The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 30 April 2025 (17:00).