Through our partnership with Lloyds Banking Group we nurture relationships between bank staff and small charities. In the face of significant sector-wide challenges, we know that these relationships can make a genuine difference to charities and Bank colleagues alike.
We know that one size does not fit all when it comes to learning and development. That's why we use all of our resources and connections, including our connection with Lloyds Banking Group, to develop a range of offers that will best meet the needs of the charities we partner with. As a charity partner through our funding programmes and our communities and influencing work, you can access development support, which includes support from Lloyds Banking Group.
The support available from Lloyds Banking Group draws upon the broad range of skills and expertise their employees have. These employees volunteer in addition to their role at Lloyds Banking Group and their support is available to access in two ways:
It’s just been brilliant. It’s as much as anything about giving clarity – someone to talk through things. When you talk through things, you discover the answer, but when you’re staring at a piece of paper it’s much harder. I really look forward to speaking to Richard (Tracey's mentor) each month.
Tracey Ashton, Operations Manager, The Vine Centre
These activities are designed to meet your current needs and are available to sign up for at any point during the year.
Are you or someone in your team looking for a sounding board to test your thinking with, or do you have a specific skill that you want to develop?
Mentors from Lloyds Banking Group offer regular one-to-one support to charity staff. They can help with specific issues, including managing staff and developing a marketing strategy, through to generic critical friend support.
Anyone in your charity can request a mentor (including trustees or volunteers), and sessions typically last 60-90 minutes. Whilst we recommend that a mentoring relationship lasts at least six months, it’s up to you and your mentor whether you continue beyond this period.
Once you've registered, we aim to introduce you to a mentor within six weeks. However, sometimes the process can take a bit longer. We will keep in touch with you throughout the process and are available to offer support throughout your mentoring journey.
Are you looking to bring different skills to your board and would welcome input from individuals with commercial and corporate backgrounds?
We introduce employees from Lloyds Banking Group who are interested in exploring charity trusteeship to charities looking to recruit new trustees. Once introduced, you'll get to know one another and determine whether they make a good fit. There’s no obligation for you to offer a trustee role nor for Bank employees to accept an offer.
When you register for the programme you have the opportunity to specify any preferred skills you are looking for in a trustee and whether you are open to being introduced to individuals who are not local to you and would carry out their trustee role entirely or mainly, remotely.
Sometimes this process can take time, and we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to find a suitable trustee, so we recommend that you keep looking for trustees through an open recruitment approach. Speak to your regional manager if you’d like support with this or access our guidance here.
These programmes take place during specified periods across the year and have sign-up windows where you can register to take part
Short-term support is offered as two and a half hour online support sessions called Charity Response Forums.
For a few hours, you'll have an opportunity to share your most pressing concerns, test your thinking, and tackle problems you're facing with a group of up to eight employees from Lloyds Banking Group. Before your forum you'll have a chance to meet the session facilitator so you can get the most out of the session.
Forums take place online across the Spring and Winter - get in touch with your main Foundation contact for more information.
Longer term, six-month support. You'll be introduced to a small support team of volunteers from Lloyds Banking Group as part of the Skills Exchange Programme
Support teams use their skills, knowledge, and insights to help charities tackle a thorny problem or realise an untapped opportunity. Your support team will work with you in a variety of ways including, informal discussions, workshops, reviewing existing documents or systems, or coaching.
To help you get the most out of the six months you’ll take part in an online kickstarter workshop, and you and your support team will receive a digital toolkit.
For more information get in touch with your main Foundation contact.
The Foundation organised additional support from Lloyds Banking Group, and our senior management team had the opportunity to work through some pressing challenges with staff from the bank, such as succession planning of our administrator and the development of our Board.
Julia Ferguson, CEO, Gateway to the Community
With activities which are ongoing - the mentoring and trustee programmes - you can simply request this support via the registration links above. If you're interested in the annual programmes, please speak to your Regional Manager, and they will share when you can register to take part. We'd also recommend you speak to your Regional Manager about your development needs so they can support you in accessing the best support for you and your team throughout your journey with us.
Do you want to access guidance on a topic but don’t need one-to-one support? Employees from Lloyds Banking Group have put together several resources that you can download from their website Lloyds Bank Academy. By accessing the resources, you’ll benefit from their employees specialist skills and experience.
We also have a set of resources to help guide and support your charity that covers HR policy and practice, risk assessment, cyber security and more. Click the button below to access these.
