Lloyds Bank Foundation awards £450,000 to charities

The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales has awarded £450,000 in grants to 15 infrastructure charities to help those the frontline of the pandemic.   

The grants were awarded to charities that have been pivotal in organising community-based responses to the pandemic.

The areas selected for funding in England were those that face particularly acute challenges, according to both the Community Needs Index and the Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

While the pandemic has affected many facets of society it has disproportionately impacted Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities.

One charity which was awarded this funding, the Black South West Network (BSWN), is a member organisation of 1,600 charities and non-profit organisations in the region.

The charity acts as a conduit for its members, helping them to access voluntary sector funding which small Black, Asian, and minority ethnic led charities traditionally have unequal access to.

The charity’s director, Sado Jirde, said: ‘Support from Lloyds Bank Foundation has enabled BSWN to expand our reach into the South West to strengthen the capacity, funding, and collaborations of local Black and Asian organisations and groups, more so now than ever with Covid and the economic recession.

‘We will listen, provide a voice, help them achieve influence, gain support, and share information regularly with those Black and Asian organisations on the frontline. Our goal is to take positive action on the systemic racism exposed and compounded by Covid in ways that make a difference in the lives of local communities. We bring proven methods, good practice and importantly, a willingness to learn and work collaboratively.’

Paul Streets, chief executive of the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, added: ‘Infrastructure charities have played a vital role to ensure that the response to the pandemic has been effective and locally rooted. These locally embedded organisations know the complex challenges facing their communities and are helping small charities to adapt to the challenges they’ve faced over the last ten months.

‘Crucially, these organisations are also helping to raise the importance of small charities that provide local services.’

Photo Credit – Alexas_Fotos (Pixabay)