HELPING SCOTLAND RECOVER JUNE 2021

As Scotland begins to ease out of This year our strategic offering is set to lockdown, Bank of Scotland Foundation be enhanced with our collaboration with is focused on supporting charities the Bank of Scotland Academy – an online through the ongoing challenges they resource to improve the skills of charities, face and Helping Scotland Recover. businesses and people through lessons and webinars. We're delighted to announce our grant programmes for the rest of 2021 which see a Our first ever Online Event in May this year mix of our Reach and Change programmes. saw many of our funded charities hear from We're also offering funding for unrestricted a panel of speakers sharing examples and core costs through our Change programme learnings on the strategic topics of ‘Digital’ for the first time. Over £690,000 of Reach and ‘Building Resilience’. We know from grants have been awarded to 50 charities feedback from charity attendees that the in 2021 so far, making a strong community two sessions were of great value, so we’re impact across Scotland. Charities who making our Online Event highlights video applied to our multi-year Invest programme available to all here. will be notified mid-June of their outcome when we expect to distribute a further £1.5m. We have a long journey ahead for all of us and funding, as well as strategic support, In addition to financial support, Lloyds will be as crucial as ever for charities as Banking Group colleagues continue to the impact of the pandemic continues. mentor some of the charities we fund, Working in partnership with Lloyds Banking providing strategic support and expert Group, we’re proud to play our part in guidance to strengthen their services. Helping Scotland Recover. OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Reach Change In February 2021, our annual donation from Lloyds Banking Group was almost Reach will make positive Change will have a large-scale, long £5m, enabling us to confidently plan and lasting change in term, positive impact on charities the ways that we would support communities across and communities across Scotland. charities during 2021, both through our Scotland. Charities with Charities with an income of between grants programmes and by providing an income of £1.5m £500k - £2m can apply for capital costs, project costs or unrestricted support beyond funding alone. or less can apply for £1,000-£25,000 over core costs of £50,000-£100,000 Our Matched Giving programme one year to support per annum over 1-2 years to ensure continues to be a valuable source people through varying they can provide continued, reliable of income for charities thanks to the stages of their lives. support for people. fundraising and volunteering efforts of Lloyds Banking Group colleagues. Colleagues have found innovative ways to support charities during lockdown The second half of the year will see us focus their resources, allowing them to respond including virtual bucket collections, solo GRANT PROGRAMMES on a grants programme strategy that will Help quickly to a changing environment and marathons and selling recipe books they Scotland Recover from the pandemic with a deploy resources accordingly. have created, raising funds for small, JUNE - DECEMBER 2021 mix of Reach and Change programmes. local charities as well as larger, national Offering up to £200k over two years, our charities close to their heart. In the first five months of the year we For the first time, charities will be able to Change programme will extend a lifeline have awarded over £690,000 of grants to apply for unrestricted core costs through to charities allowing them to apply for Our Charity Mentoring programme 50 charities through our Reach programme, our Change programme. We hope that whatever is their greatest priority and area has also continued throughout lockdown, addressing areas such as mental health, unrestricted core cost funding will give of need - whether that be capital costs, with the Group’s colleagues and the financial vulnerability and social isolation. charities greater flexibility over how they use project work or unrestricted core costs. charities they help moving to remote mentoring until such time that restrictions ease and face-to-face meetings can take Programme Dates June – December 2021 place again. PROGRAMME Our partnership with the Group also OPEN CLOSE GRANTS AWARDED gives us access to new initiatives and we (Charity income criteria) are pleased to launch our collaboration with the Bank of Scotland Academy. The Reach (Less than £1.5m) 12 Noon Thursday 3rd June 12 Noon Tuesday 8th June Mid-July 2021 Academy offers charities a huge variety of online lessons and webinars in digital, life and work skills and is an exciting Reach (Less than £1.5m) 12 Noon Monday 26th July 12 Noon Thursday 29th July Mid-September 2021 opportunity for us to help charities and their beneficiaries develop and improve. Change (£500k-£2m) 12 Noon Tuesday 31st August 12 Noon Thursday 9th September End of November 2021 We are very proud of our partnership with the Group and look forward to continuing this relationship throughout Reach (Less than £1.5m) 12 Noon Monday 20th September 12 Noon Thursday 24th September End of November 2021 2021 and beyond. MAXWELLTOWN INFORMATION CENTRE

The Maxwelltown Information Centre When Covid lockdowns prevented people negate the need to decide between heat is a community centre and garden based accessing the centre for help, the charity and food; signposting to mental health in the heart of Dundee’s Coldside. They quickly adapted, switching mainly to organisations; financial support and much are committed to improving the quality telephone support. This way, they could more. of life for the local community and to continue to help individuals take control combatting social exclusion, poverty, of their lives by addressing the day to day Alison Goodfellow, Project Manager at disadvantage, and discrimination. issues affecting them, such as poverty, debt, Maxwell said, “Due to the pandemic, more The centre provides a welcoming unemployment and poor health. people have needed to access food than and empowering environment, open ever before and have had more issues to to everyone, to socialise, access The initial role of the Project Worker was to contend with too. However, we’ve learned information and learn new skills such support those in the local area, but during that we can adapt when needed and still as creative gardening, cooking and the pandemic the charity was supporting maintain support for those who need it. upcycling. people Dundee-wide through its call line. Every individual who contacted them was "Thanks to the funding from Bank of The charity received a grant of £15,140 able to access emergency food within that Scotland Foundation, our Project Worker from the November Reach programme working day and offered support for the has been able to support a wider range in 2019 to fund the salary of an existing reasons that lead to food insecurity. The of people across Dundee, rather than just part-time Project Worker and enable them majority of these people received further our local community and enabled our vital to continue supporting up to 750 people support, including access to local food service to continue to help people access who were facing financial crisis and food larders that provide low cost, nutritional food and mitigate food insecurity. insecurity. food; help applying for fuel vouchers to

continue transforming services using barriers and improve accessibility and the children and young people through music. digital tools to break down barriers and strategies charities are implementing to Elanor Gunn, Acting Head of Centre from improve accessibility. develop the skills necessary to embrace Sistema Scotland provided an overview of long-term digital change. how the charity adapted their Big Noise Hosted by our Chair, Phillip Grant, our guest project over the last 12 months to continue speakers included Ross McCulloch, Founder Throughout the Building Resilience Session supporting their children and young people Third Sector Lab; Sally Dyson, Head of Digital our panel provided real insight and food for and shared a wonderful video showcasing Participation, SCVO; Nancy Campbell, thought as they talked through ways in which their hard work. (The 5-minute video can be Strategic Development Manager, MS Therapy charities can provide well-being support viewed on our Facebook & Twitter pages.) Centre; Jemma Waters, Head of Responsible to their staff, volunteers and beneficiaries, Transformation, Lloyds Banking Group, how charities can use partnership working The key take-way and most common piece Frances Simpson, Support in Mind, Anna to capitalise on one and others capabilities of advice that emerged from our Online On the 19th of May, we hosted our very Fowlie, SCVO and Kirsty McNab, Scottish and information relating to the wealth of Event was the importance of embracing first Online Event to give charities and Sports Futures who all provided different resources available to support well-being new challenges and focussing on what you third sector leaders the opportunity perspectives relating to their expertise in and resilience. can do, rather than what you can’t do. to share the excellent ways they have regards to Digital and Building Resilience. overcome challenges, adapted services As part of the event, we welcomed Sistema We thank everyone for joining us and and built resilience throughout the During our Digital Session our panel gave Scotland for our ‘Bringing Funding to Life’ helping shape the discussion of the event. pandemic. The conversation was both wonderful perspectives covering the ways section, to demonstrate the impact of their Our 25-minute highlights video can be reflective and forward thinking, looking organisations can use digital solutions to Bank of Scotland Foundation funding of over viewed via this link. back over the last twelve months but overcome challenges, how organisations are £184k in 2019. Sistema Scotland is a charity also looking at ways the third sector can promoting digital inclusion to break down based in Govanhill transforming the lives of A WORD FROM OUR CHAIR

The last year has been one of the most As we look towards Helping Scotland challenging years faced by the Foundation Recover, I’m pleased to offer charities, staff and indeed the whole of Scotland. I must and volunteers access to the new Bank of recognise at the outset the huge efforts Scotland Academy where they can learn from the Foundation team and the Board new skills to develop and improve that ensured we could continue to support themselves and their organisations. Scotland’s charities throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. I am hugely grateful Lastly, I must acknowledge the support for their dedication and professionalism of our sole funder, Lloyds Banking Group. throughout the year. We are hugely grateful for the Group’s annual donation that has enabled us to offer In the last twelve months our strategy has a range of grants programmes to charities been adapted to ensure we can distribute across Scotland that will help to provide our funding effectively, efficiently and people with opportunity and equality and quickly to charities - including increasing the make positive, sustainable change. frequency of our grant funding, amending the income criteria to enable more charities From everyone at Bank to apply and allowing charities to apply for of Scotland Foundation, larger amounts of funding. Our changes we hope that you stay have brought stability to charities during very safe and well. challenging months and helped them meet the immediate and longer term needs of some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people.

The energy and determination of charity BANK OF SCOTLAND ACADEMY staff and volunteers throughout the pandemic has been inspirational, from Philip Grant, moving to providing services online, Chair We are excited to announce a new of Scotland Foundation, giving charities distributing hundreds of food parcels to collaboration with the Bank of Scotland across Scotland the skills and confidence those most in need and tackling isolation. Academy, which provides further to thrive and help their users at this opportunity for us to offer charities unprecedented time.” support beyond funding alone. The Academy offers a range of topics The Academy aims to help Scottish including: Contact details Follow us on charities, businesses and people with their Correspondence address:   www.facebook.com/ confidence and capability by offering a • Finding and securing your perfect job The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ bankofscotlandfoundation huge variety of lessons and webinars in • Managing your business’ finances Telephone: 0345 124 1351  digital, life and work skills. The Academy @BofSFoundation • Building a social media and marketing is open to everyone, easy to follow, and Email: enquiries@ strategy completely free. Jemma Waters, Head bankofscotlandfoundation.co.uk of Responsible Transformation, Group • Keeping an organisation safe and secure Website: Registered charity: SC032942. Company Limited by Guarantee: SC229825. Transformation, Lloyds Banking Group said www.bankofscotlandfoundation.org You can access the academy at Registered office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ “We’re delighted to be working with Bank www.bankofscotlandacademy.co.uk