As the Foundation looks back on the past 35 years, it revealed that it has contributed £39m to more than 11,000 projects improving the lives of so many Northern Ireland people since its start in 1985.
The Foundation receives an annual donation from Lloyds Banking Group to fund all its Grant Programmes, including its Matched Giving Scheme, which supports the fundraising and volunteering efforts of staff from Halifax and Lloyds Bank in Northern Ireland.
The amazing impact of the grant aid is a testament to the hard work of the Community and Voluntary sector in tandem with the staff team at the Foundation, the dedicated Trustees and the forward-looking ideology of the bank to provide the funds.
“Our ethos has always been to support local people in local communities to improve their quality of life. The impact of grassroots funding can be life changing for many individuals and groups. It’s what inspires us and brings us together as a sector,” explained Executive Director Brenda McMullan.
One of the first recipients of the grant was Relate NI which received £2,500 in 1987 and has continued to receive support over the past three decades, most recently to adapt its services during the Covid-19 crisis to use telephone and webcam counselling to reach out to those in need remotely. It now supports almost 3,000 people annually.
Duane Farrell, CEO of Relate NI: “What we value about our relationship with the team at Halifax Foundation is their supportive approach, the responsiveness of their grants programmes to what is happening to the lives of people in Northern Ireland as demonstrated over last six months and their strong understanding of the Community and Voluntary sector in Northern Ireland.”
Originally called the TSB Foundation, Mervyn Stewart was the first member of staff, appointed in 1995 to support the trustees in reaching grant decisions. He had recently retired as an IT manager and took the job as a volunteer initially.
At that time, charities wrote a letter to the Board requesting financial support to reach people in need. Mervyn remembers receiving handwritten letters from charities, and quickly set about devising a short application form that would ensure there was a level playing field for both small, voluntary led charities and larger, more established charities alike.
The appointment of Mervyn was a pivotal moment for the Foundation, and the ethos of supporting the smallest charities at the coalface exists to this very day.
He said: “It was a great adventure. The buzz of being involved in an organisation that truly made people’s lives better is what made my time with the Foundation special. I am delighted that many of the values that existed back then are still an integral part of the Halifax Foundation today.”
Over the years, the Foundation expanded its relationship with employees of the bank. Not only does it offer a Matched Giving Scheme for the fundraising efforts of Halifax Bank staff, it also set up a scheme in which senior Lloyds Banking Group colleagues mentor charity leaders.
Lloyds Bank Ambassador Jim McCooe said: “This has been a unique opportunity for bank colleagues to work directly to help build business and leadership skills among the charity sector. It’s also given our bank teams the chance to see first-hand the hard work going on in the community and the impact of the bank’s funding for the Foundation.”
One charity to benefit from mentoring was the Community Rescue Service. As well as providing funding to CRS, Sharon Gibson, the volunteer Regional Fundraising Manager was paired with Simon Gowdy, Learning Programme Manager at Lloyds.
Sharon said: “I knew from that first meeting that we would make real changes. Throughout the year, Simon helped me to redesign our fundraising structure and helped me gain knowledge around delegation. The mentorship programme was invaluable to me personally, and to the Community Rescue Service as an organisation.”
During the Covid-19 crisis the Halifax Foundation played a crucial role in the support of the third sector to quickly get help out to those who needed it most. They began providing funding on the first day of lockdown, March 23, and over the spring and summer provided nearly £800,000 to projects such as food banks and the delivery of food parcels to those in need, domestic abuse support, mental health provision and online employability support for those who have lost their job as a result of the outbreak.
The Foundation is already looking to the future with the re-launch of two special grant schemes that were deferred at the start of the pandemic but have since been re-instated. Applications are now being considered for 20 projects with a total of £700,000 in funding.
The Large Grants Scheme involves a payment of £50,000 over three years. Successful applicants will be assigned a mentor, and bespoke support for charity needs. A total of ten awards will be announced in March 2021.
The Special Initiatives Scheme, which allocates £20,000 over two years to successful applicants is designed for charities that support the community and voluntary sector. A further ten awards will also be announced in March.
Halifax Foundation Chair Imelda McMillan said: “We have a proud history of supporting those who need it most and looking back on the past 35 years we can see the impact that this funding has had in Northern Ireland. We are determined to continue to support our third sector and make a difference to the lives of many more people here.”
Foundation Chair Imelda McMillan, Executive Director Brenda McMullan and Lloyds Bank Ambassador Jim McCooe.
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