The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales has announced that 

Project proposals for the Foundation's Specialist Programme for Smaller Charities should meet the Foundation's recently revised priority areas of addressing issues around:

o Addiction and dependency on alcohol, drugs and/or gambling.
o Asylum seekers and refugees.
o Care leavers.
o Domestic and sexual abuse.
o Homeless and vulnerably housed.
o Offending, prison or community service.
o Sexual exploitation, and/or
o Trafficking and modern slavery.

The Foundation offers unrestricted grants of up to £75,000 over 36 months for small and medium sized charities with an annual income of between £25,000 and £500,000.

Grants are available for core operational costs and tailored development support for not-for-profit organisations in England and Wales that have a track record of helping people overcome the complex social issues listed above.

Eligible applicants should meet the following criteria:

o Able to evidence a track record of working with people aged 17 or older, who are facing complex issues as listed by the Foundation. The exception to this is charities working with young parents.
o Be a registered charity number (this includes Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs)).
o Been delivering services for more than a year in England and/or Wales.
o Have a board of at least 3 trustees who are not related.
o Have an annual income of between £25,000 and £500,000 in the last set of accounts published on the Charity Commission website.
o Have an operational and up to date safeguarding policy.
o Have free reserves of less than 12 months, and
o Have their own bank account.

Applicants will also be expected to demonstrate how their work:

o Is holistic and beneficiary-centred.
o Is in-depth.
o Is targeted.
o Shows a passion for development, and
o Supports a journey of change.

Funding is not available for:

o Animal welfare charities.
o Charities working predominantly outside England and Wales.
o Community Interest Companies.
o Hospitals, health authorities or hospices.
o Infrastructure or ‘umbrella’ organisations. (Requests would be considered from these organisations only for any direct delivery of support to disadvantaged people.)
o Nurseries, pre-schools or playgroups.
o Organisations that do not have a purpose/benefit beyond the promotion of religion.
o Organisations whose primary purpose is to give funds to individuals or other organisations. This means organisations using more than 50% of annual expenditure as grants.
o Rescue services.
o Schools, colleges, universities.
o Significant capital purchases, building work, or purchase of vehicles, or
o Work that is primarily one-off or sign posting.

Further information, eligibility criteria, an Eligibility Checklist and an application form is available on the Foundation’s website.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 3rd March 2023.