Lloyds Bank Foundations, Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, and Bank of Scotland Foundation - Matched Giving Scheme

Please note these guidance notes replace all previous guidance notes.

Who are the Foundations?

The Foundations are independent registered charities, each with a Board of Trustees who work to ensure that the money donated by Lloyds Banking Group is distributed to local charities.

Our funding is directed to registered charities which are focused on improving quality of life, creating equality of opportunity for people throughout the UK and helping those who are disadvantaged or marginalised in society.  In particular, we are keen to reach local community groups and grass-roots charities which are often more vulnerable.

How the Matched Giving Scheme works

The Matched Giving Scheme was established to encourage colleagues to get involved in the voluntary sector and to help fundraise through personal participation in events or give their time freely to support the work of charities throughout the UK.   The Foundations run this scheme for the colleagues of Lloyds Banking Group and its subsidiary companies and our own staff and Trustees.

Every colleague employed by Lloyds Banking Group and any Group subsidiary in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Lloyds Bank Foundations, Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland or the Bank of Scotland Foundation (including Trustees) is entitled to claim up to a maximum of £500 for fundraising events and £500 for voluntary time (£8 per hour) per calendar year.  We will match every pound you fundraise or donate £8 per hour of voluntary time given; to a maximum of £500 for fundraising events and /or £500 for voluntary time given, provided that your claim falls within the rules of the scheme and the charity is eligible for funding.

Before applying to the Matched Giving Scheme please make sure that you have read the rules and guidance notes below carefully.

The Rules

Here are the basic rules for applying to the Matched Giving Scheme:

• You must be an employee of Lloyds Banking Group, or any other Group subsidiary in the England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, or an employee or Trustee of Lloyds Bank Foundations, Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland or the Bank of Scotland Foundation.

   

• We cannot support claims for activities or voluntary time completed by family members, friends etc.  The ethos of the scheme is to get you to personally participate in the voluntary sector.

   

• Each staff member is entitled to claim up to a maximum of £500 for fundraising events and £500 for voluntary time (£8 per hour) per calendar year

   

• You can apply at any point in the year and for as many different activities as you like, so long as your annual entitlement is not exceeded.

   

•  Note for year- end administration purposes the scheme closes mid-December and does not open until the following January. Please keep this in mind when submitting applications.

   

• Please note that claims under £50 are not eligible.

   

• For fundraising activity claims:

   

  • You must have personally participated in an event or activity.   That is, you must have done something to the raise the funds.  You will have to provide details of your fundraising activity and the amount you raised on the application form.

     

  • Claims for fundraising activities must be submitted within six months of the date of the event.

     

  • You must have completed the fundraising activity and payment made to the charity before being able to claim.  

   

  • For larger fundraising events involving multiple colleagues, the total amount claimed should not exceed the total amount raised. For example if 4 colleagues were involved in organising a bake ssale and a total amount of £400 was raised, each colleague can submit a claim for £100 each. Each colleague cannot submit a claim for the full £400.
    

     

• For claims for voluntary time:

• These can be submitted at any time for hours given to charity during the last 12 months.

   

• We do not support claims for voluntary time spent organising or taking part in fundraising events or for time given during work time.

   

• We can only support charities which fit within our guidelines (see the types of charities we fund and what we don’t fund).

The types of charities we fund

We support a wide range of charities which help people in the UK to achieve a better quality of life, create equality of opportunity and help those who are disadvantaged or marginalised in society. 

Each of the Foundations may only support charities working within that Foundation’s geographic region (e.g. Lloyds Bank Foundation for the Channel Islands may only support charities based and working in the Channel Islands).

What we don’t fund

Unfortunately, we are unable to fund the following types of charitable work:

• Organisations which are not  registered charities
• Individuals – including students
• Animal welfare
• Environmental projects e.g. geographic and scenic, conservation and protection of flora and fauna
• Mainstream activities and statutory requirements of hospitals and medical centres (inc NHS Trusts), schools, universities and colleges
• Sponsorship or marketing appeals
• Establishment/preservation of endowment/welfare funds
• Organisations that redistribute funding for subsequent grant making to other organisations and/or individuals.
• Expeditions or overseas travel
• Places of worship, other than where such buildings provide accommodation for community groups
• Promotion of religion
• Heritage centres, visitor centres, museums and theatres
• Historic restoration/historic publications
• Charitable work outside of the UK (i.e. benefiting people outside the UK)

Where to send your completed claim form

Once you have completed your fundraising event or voluntary time then you should complete an application online.

What happens next?

Once we have received your claim form, we will check for eligibility against the rules and the types of charities we fund.

If your claim is successful, we will email you to let you know that your claim has been approved.

We will send the Matched Giving Claim payment directly to the charity, sharing your name and detailing the funds you raised and the activity you undertook.

Please note claims can take up to 8 weeks to process. This processing time will increase at peak times.