Sefton housing charity boosted by ₤65,805 Lloyds Bank Foundation grant

Greta Fenney, CEO at Light for Life, said:- "We are delighted to have been awarded funds from the Lloyds Bank Foundation to employ a worker for the Light for Life Bond Scheme. The Bond enables disadvantaged people an opportunity to secure local rented accommodation, subject to assessment, in the private sector with landlords with whom we have developed a positive working relationship. This will result in a number of individuals and families securing a home who are otherwise reliant on emergency accommodation and hostels. This scheme complements the services available in the Borough of Sefton."

Paul Streets OBE, Chief Executive of Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, said:- "Cuts to public funding and changes to commissioning mean specialist local charities are struggling to stay afloat despite increasing demand for their services. Funding from grant makers such as Lloyds Bank Foundation can be a lifeline for many such small charities. We are pleased to get this new year off to a great start by supporting Life for Life Sefton, whose work in the community is invaluable and will be working even more closely with all the charities we support in 2017 to make sure their voices are heard."

Small and medium sized charities play a critical, but often unseen role, offering specialist support to those facing the greatest disadvantage in a way that bigger charities, businesses and the public sector often cannot. Funding from independent grant making organisations, such as Lloyds Bank Foundation, are vital to the survival of many specialist local charities who have previously relied on income from Government and Councils. Research shows that despite 3 in 4 charities reporting a continued increase in demand for their services, 60% say they know of 1 or more local groups that have been forced to close in the last year alone. As well as cuts to public funding, our Commissioning in Crisis report, published in December 2016, reveals a broken public commissioning system which excludes small charities from bidding for and winning contracts. Light for Life Sefton received 1 of 51 new grants made to small and medium sized charities in the 3rd round of Lloyds Bank Foundation's Invest grants for 2016, worth a total of ₤3,210,588. The Foundation made a total of 281 grants worth ₤12.3m last year.

Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is the largest corporate foundation by spend in the UK and an independent charity funded by Lloyds Banking Group as part of its Helping Britain Prosper Plan. Charities interested in applying for grant funding should visit our website.