Skipton Building Society Charitable Foundation

The focus of the fund will be to help people experiencing hardship and/or underserved groups to:

• Access a place to call home.
• Improve financial wellbeing.

For both focus areas, priority will be given to charities supporting people in the top 50% of the UK Index of Multiple Deprivation.

The target outcomes for ‘Access a Place to Call Home’ are people have:

• Access and support into a safe and secure permanent or temporary place to call home. The funder wants to support charities that enable people most in need to live independently.
• Access and support into a safe and secure home in times of crisis. Enabling people into temporary accommodation in emergency situations such as homelessness or a health crisis.
• Access to a safe and secure place in the community. When ‘home’ doesn’t feel like home – people need somewhere to go to receive appropriate help and wellbeing support. For some people a community centre, charity hub or simply a safe space feels like home, so the funder wants to make sure these services continue to thrive.

The target outcomes for ‘Financial Wellbeing’ are people have:

• The support needed to prevent and/or address financial difficulty. Support for charities who provide help and guidance on how to manage money and improve financial wellbeing.
• Access to financial education. Support for charities whose work will support financial independence and education.
• Better digital competence to enable financial wellbeing. Support for charities who support people to navigate the digital world especially where it relates to managing money.

The Foundation will consider funding core costs, project costs, and small capital contributions.

Core costs could include, for example:

• Staff salaries or hiring additional team members.
• Overhead expenses such as rent or utilities.
• Scaling up successful programmes or developing new ones.
• Investing in infrastructure or technology to improve operations.

Project costs could include, for example:

• Daily essentials such as pots, pans and white goods for people who have secured a permanent place to call home.
• Aids such as a ramp/stairlift in a community centre removing any barriers for local people.
• Books or resources which support financial education.
• Laptops or online systems used to deliver digital competence sessions.

UK registered charities based and working in the UK may apply.

To be eligible, applicants must be charities:

• Registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, and the Scottish Charity Regulator.
• Established for at least three years and able to provide three years of accounts published on the relevant Charity Commission.
• Which have a direct benefit to people in the UK.

Priority will be given to charities supporting people in the top 50% of the UK Index of Multiple Deprivation.

Successful applicants must wait three years before re-applying. Unsuccessful applicants must wait one year before re-applying.

The first funding round will open for applications on 3 March and close on 1 May 2025