Building a Brighter Future for Scotland

In Scotland, social exclusion, disadvantage, and deprivation remain huge priorities to address. 

Levels of poverty were increasing long before the shocks of the last four years. The impact of the cost of living crisis on quality of life is profound, with a particularly devastating impact on vulnerable people who are more susceptible to experiencing harm, discrimination, or disadvantage. 

Through our new five-year strategy – Building a Brighter Future for Scotland – the needs and aspirations of vulnerable people will drive our work as we aim to fund, support and champion the small and local charities that work to improve their quality of life. 

Four strategic aims will determine our programmes of work over the next five years: 

Flexibility and mutual understanding will underpin our work as we make more of multi-year and unrestricted funding, enabling charities to use their grants in the way that helps them best. 

Through collaboration with Lloyds Banking Group, we'll be a source of added value for charities offering strategic development support and colleague volunteers. 

Working with charities and other funders we aim to become more influential by championing the work of charities and raising awareness of the challenges vulnerable people face. 

• We'll keep listening and learning, and monitoring and evaluating to continually improve ourselves and ensure we work effectively and efficiently to maximise our contribution and the impact of the charities we support.

You can read more about our new strategy in our latest newsletter

Grants Programmes 2024
Programme Opens Closes Charities advised of outcome by
Empower End of May 2024
Energise End of August 2024
Enable August 2024 TBC End of November 2024

What We Do

Bank of Scotland Foundation receives an annual donation from Lloyds Banking Group as part of the Group's commitment to Helping Scotland Prosper. We distribute these funds to charities across Scotland through our Grants Programmes and a Matched Giving Programme for Lloyds Banking Group employees in Scotland.

Launched in January 2024, ‘Building a brighter future for Scotland’ is the Foundation’s five year strategic plan which will see a range of new funding programmes open in 2024. See About Us for more information.

  • Building a brighter future for Scotland
  • Announcing 3 new grants programmes
  • Empower
  • Energise
  • Enable
  • Man On! Inverclyde
  • Since we launched in 2010
  • Dance Base
  • Ubuntu Women Shelter
  • To be eligible to apply, charities must: -

    • have an income of between £150k - £500k
    • have a minimum of three years accounts lodged at OSCR

    Charities can apply for a 3 year unrestricted grant of £150k (£50k per annum).

  • To be eligible to apply, charities must: -

    • have an income of £150k or less 
    • have a minimum of one year accounts lodged at OSCR 

    Charities can apply for a 2 year unrestricted grant of £20k (£10k per annum).

  • To be eligible to apply, charities must: -

    • have an income of £500k or less 
    • have a minimum of two years accounts lodged at OSCR 

    Charities can apply for a 3 year grant of between £30k - £90k (£10k - £30k per annum) for restricted funding for volunteering projects/costs/initiatives.

    Opportunity to engage colleagues from Lloyds Banking Group in volunteering.

  • Lloyds Banking Group colleagues can claim up to £1,000 each calendar year for a charity for which they have either raised money for or given time to. 

    They can claim up to £500 for fundraising events and/or £500 for voluntary time given (£10 per hour).

  • Through collaboration with Lloyds Banking Group, we’re a source of added value for charities offering strategic development support and colleague volunteers.