Boost to scotland’s third sector as bank of scotland foundation awards £833,000 of grants in first half of 2017

Scotland’s Third Sector received a significant boost in the first half of 2017, with 46 charities sharing £833,257 after successfully applying for funding through Bank of Scotland Foundation’s Small, Medium and Large Grants Programmes.

The awards range from a Small Grant of £2,000 which contributes to Falkirk and Central Scotland Samaritans’ heating and lighting costs, to this year’s biggest award; a Large Grant of £100,000 enabling Govan Law Centre to deliver an outreach financial service and advice service for vulnerable people with complex needs, who end up homeless after being discharged from facilities such as hospital or prison.

This is the third year that Bank of Scotland Foundation has accepted applications for Large Grants of between £50,000 and £100,000. These are awarded annually and carry the additional advantage of providing successful charities whose projects cover the Foundation’s key themes of developing and improving local communities, or financial literacy and financial inclusion, with steady, reliable, funding over a longer period. Five charities across Edinburgh and Glasgow received Large Grants in 2017, totalling £443,896.

Bank of Scotland Foundation is one of the few grant makers who will provide funding for core costs such as salaries, rent or running costs, giving charities some much needed stability in an increasingly challenging environment. In 2016, the majority of charities who received funding from the Foundation used their grant to pay for core costs - a situation that is unlikely to change in the current climate.

Philip Grant, Chair of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and Chair of the Scottish Executive Committee, Lloyds Banking Group said, “Bank of Scotland Foundation is delighted that our Small and Medium Grants Programmes have continued to help so many Scottish charities in the first half of this year - most of whom who have used the funding to cover core costs vital in providing a service to their local community.

“Our annual Large Grants Programme continues to attract some excellent proposals for longer term funding across a wide range of projects; from supporting vulnerable people with complex needs, to those that support young families or people with dementia. The fact that we can provide successful applicants with steady and reliable funding over two years makes a huge difference to their projects. We’re proud to be able to help support the great work that charities do for their communities across Scotland and look forward to awarding further Grants later this year.”

The final tranche of the 2017 Small and Medium Grants is now open and charities have until 12 noon on 6 October 2017 to send in their applications. The 2018 Large Grants programme will open early January 2018.

The Small, Medium and Large Grant approvals for Scotland in H1 2017 were: