Our economic contribution to society is supported by active investment in communities and our charitable giving programme. Lloyds Banking Group is the biggest corporate investor in UK communities. We invested £76 million in communities in 2010, including support for financial inclusion and capability, sponsorship of sports for young people and support to the Group’s charitable Foundations.

 

In addition, we made a significant investment in the provision of social bank accounts, to help bring those who are excluded from mainstream financial services into the financial system.

 

This year, Lloyds Banking Group was awarded Business in the Community’s CommunityMark, the national standard that publicly recognises excellence in community investment. We achieved the award on account of our impressive range of community programmes and the extent to which these are integrated throughout the Group.

 

Funding grassroots charities

 

Much of the Group’s charitable giving is through the Lloyds TSB Foundations and Bank of Scotland Foundation – five independent charitable Foundations supported solely by the Group. In the last 25 years, more than £480 million has been invested in small, grassroots charities across the UK through the Lloyds TSB Foundations. In 2010, the Bank of Scotland Foundation was established to take forward our long-term community investment in Scotland.

 

Last year, we provided more than £29 million to the Foundations. This enabled the Foundations to support over 1,200 charities across the UK. This investment often covers charities’ core costs, such as wages for key employees. In the current economic climate, when many charities are finding it difficult to attract funding, the Foundation grants are helping many charities to survive.

 

Our Charity of the Year programme

 

Our Charity of the Year programme is our flagship fundraising initiative. It is one of the largest corporate fundraising programmes in the UK. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) was our Charity of the Year from July 2008 to December 2010. We raised £3.6 million in total for the BHF through a wide range of employee, customer and shareholder fundraising projects. The money we raised funds 15 specialist BHF Heart Nurses and 12 healthcare assistants, nurses, psychologists and health educators, who will support 14,400 patients and their families across the UK.

 

Save the Children

Save the Children – our Charity of the Year in 2011

Lloyds Banking Group’s Charity of the Year for 2011 is Save the Children. Working together we aim to raise at least £1 million to fund 52Save the Children Families and Schools Together (FAST) projects in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities.

 

FAST is a unique programme that brings together children and their parents, schools and community volunteers in a supportive environment to ensure that children get the best possible start to their school life. It helps coach parents on how to support their children’s development by engaging them in educational activities and building their confidence, helping parents take a more active role in their children’s schooling and their local communities.

Save the Children

Registered charity England and Wales (213890) Scotland (SC039570)

 

Employee volunteering

 

Our employees are our strongest link with the local communities in which we operate. We are committed to enabling employees to make a contribution to communities.

 

As one of the UK’s biggest employers, our colleague volunteering initiatives can make a real difference. In 2010, we launched our Day to Make a Difference volunteering programme. This enables all Lloyds Banking Group employees to spend one day a year during work time volunteering for a charity or local community project of their choice. Over 7,300 employees volunteered during 2010 in their local communities, through this programme and other volunteering initiatives.

 

Matched giving

 

Through our Matched Giving scheme, operated by our charitable Foundations, we enable employees to maximise their contributions to the charities and causes that are important to them. In 2010, employees could claim up to £500 from the Foundations to match funds they raised for charity, including our Charity of the Year, or time given in volunteering. This has been raised to £1,000 per employee in 2011. In 2010, our colleagues claimed £1.3 million in matched funding, raising £3.2 million for charities in the process.

 

Making a Difference Awards

 

Our annual Making a Difference Awards celebrate employees who make an exceptional contribution to charities and community groups. There are seven different award categories, ranging from ‘best individual fundraisers’ to ‘most supportive managers’ – those who have supported colleagues and built community activity into business activity. We received over 250 nominations for the 2010 awards, which were judged by the Chief Executive of the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales, Linda Kelly, and a panel of senior managers from across the Group. The award ceremony was hosted by Group Executive Director, Wholesale, Truett Tate, and awards were presented by broadcaster and businessman Martyn Lewis CBE, who is Chairman of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

 

London 2012 partnership

 

As the Official Banking and Insurance Partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are using the power of the London 2012 Games to inspire young people to do more sport through Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland National School Sport Week, delivered in partnership with the charity Youth Sport Trust in England and Wales and sportscotland in Scotland. In 2010, 14,000 schools and five million young people took part.


We also support the future stars of Team GB and ParalympicsGB through our Local Heroes programme which will have provided funding to more than 1,000 emerging young athletes across Britain by 2012. Athletes receive a financial award to help towards their training, equipment and travel costs.

 

Olympic Torch Relay

 

We’re giving our customers, employees and the British public the chance to get involved and nominate someone to carry the Olympic Flame as we help bring the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay to communities across Britain.