Post on 04-Feb-2023
Understanding the outcomes of
local investments: The Lloyds
Banking Group Community Fund
Authors: Rosemary Maguire, Joanna Allan
nef consulting limited
nef (new economics foundation)
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London SE11 5NH
www.nef-consulting.co.uk
Tel: 020 7820 6304
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Executive Summary 4
1. Introduction 6
2. The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund 2012: 8
what we learned
3. Looking forward to 2013 investments: 16
what could the Lloyds Banking Community Fund achieve this year?
Contents
Executive summary
The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund was set up in 2012 with the aim of
unlocking the potential of young people by supporting UK communities at the
grass roots level. In 2013 the fund has been extended to cover 400 local
communities, and its scope extended to ‘unlock(ing) the potential of
communities and the people in them’. Nominated projects are selected by
Lloyds Banking Group staff, then local communities are invited to vote for their
preferred local project.
The purpose of this research is to review the achievements of the 2012 funding
and consider the potential value to communities benefitting from the 2013
funding. It has been informed by primary research with funded projects and
Lloyds Banking Group staff, and a literature review of the impact of community
investments.
The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund 2012: what we learned
Those supported by the Community Fund used the investment in three main
ways: directly delivering activities to young people and their families; purchasing
or replacing equipment and facilities used to deliver activities; and supporting
the strategic development of the organisation.
The following results were reported for the organisations and wider community:
� 96% stated that they had been able to grow the support base for their
organisation.
� 88% of those surveyed stated that they had been able to make links with new
people or organisations within the community.
� 79% of those surveyed felt that applying for the funding had helped them to
develop new project ideas
� 88% felt that there was an increase in new people taking part in activities in
their area.
� 71% felt that there was an increase in the links between different
organisations and groups
Feedback from all organisations that were funded was positive; they
appreciated the ease of the process, the support and media opportunities.
Organisations that were successful in receiving the funding worked extremely
hard to generate awareness of their work in their local communities, developing
clear messages and new approaches to increasing their support base.
This research found that the initial pilot of this programme has been successful
in testing an approach to funding, engaging and supporting community
organisations and growing awareness about their work. The funding has
supported local activity which people care about, and in many cases has been
invested in projects which will sustain beyond the duration of the funded activity.
The fund has helped to bring people together and in many cases has helped to
bring forward activity which may have struggled to find funding. The challenge
for the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund team will be to gather
longitudinal data from the one year evaluation which helps them to understand
longer term gains from the funding.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Looking forward to 2013 investments: what could the Lloyds Banking
Community Fund achieve this year?
The aspirations for Lloyds Banking Group colleagues for this year’s funding fall
into four main areas: taking the opportunity to help more people in local areas;
supporting groups to communicate their work locally; creating a positive link
between customers and the bank; and understanding the tangible changes from
the successful projects.
The literature review which formed part of this research found that key to
creating lasting change is to invest in activities which help to build the capacity
of organisations to generate further income and to understand how investing in
organisations that support individuals to make change in their lives can be
scaled up to achieve wider changes.
Overall, the aspirations for this year’s funding appear to build on what was
observed through the projects funded in 2012, and the results of the literature
review. There is a desire to fund activities which grow local organisations and
create better ties between the Lloyds Banking Group and the local communities
it serves. There is also a desire to better understand and evidence how change
happens, so that the growth of the fund can be effectively evaluated.
This piece of research is a starting point for Lloyds Banking Group to better
understand how its investments are creating change for communities, long after
the donations are made. Lloyds Banking Group is moving past the premise that
the act of giving alone can create change, and is using the data it collects from
projects and after projects have finished, to start to scrutinise the impact that it
is able to create through the programme. By taking the step of publicising an
assessment of how it performed in 2012, Lloyds Banking Group has set a
benchmark of the changes that the programme made through its pilot phase,
and can look forward to seeing if those changes can be replicated as the
programme is rolled out to further communities.
The learning gained from the 2012 and 2013 investments can be used more
widely within the Lloyds Banking Group to understand how community activities
can bridge the link between local branches, customers and community
organisations. A greater understanding of this relationship and its potential to
deliver local impact could help to align core business activities more closely to
communities’ needs, supporting them better through all of the work that Lloyds
Banking Group does.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
1. Introduction
The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund was set up in 2012 with the aim of
unlocking the potential of young people by supporting UK communities at the
grass roots level. Funding was offered to local organisations in the 66
communities along the Olympic Torch relay route. The projects were initially
nominated by Lloyds Banking Group colleagues, with shortlisted organisations
then taking part in a public vote for the funding. 132 organisations received
£5000 in 2012, using the funds to support local projects for young people.
In 2013 the fund has been extended to cover 400 local communities, and the
scope of the funding has been extended to ‘unlocking the potential of
communities and the people in them’. Projects in each area have been
nominated by Lloyds Banking Group colleagues and four have been shortlisted
for awards. The public in the participating communities will be invited to vote for
their preferred projects in September 2013; the two highest scoring projects will
receive £3000 and the remaining two will receive £300.
The research
The purpose of this research is to review the achievements of the 2012 funding
and to consider the potential value to communities benefitting from the 2013
funding. The research considered the high level achievements of the projects
funded in 2012, building on existing internal reviews and evaluations. It also
reviewed the aspirations for the 2013 funding from those involved in the Fund,
set within a wider understanding of the benefits of community investments.
The first stage of the research involved a literature review of existing
programme documentation, telephone interviews with Lloyds Banking Group
Community Fund staff and representatives of projects funded in 2012. An
electronic survey was also sent to a sample of the projects which were funded
in 2012. 25 organisations responded to this survey (out of a total of 132). The
locations of the respondents can be seen in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Map of respondents to survey
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
For the second phase of the research, a rapid literature review was undertaken
to assess current views on the benefits of community investment. The findings
were analysed in within the context of the results of the first phase of the
research.
This report contains the findings of this research. The report is structured as
follows:
� Chapter 2 looks at lessons drawn from the 2012 funding, based on the survey
findings. The research considers the experiences of both the organisations
and the communities in which they are based.
� Chapter 3 looks forward to the potential outcomes for the 2013 investments,
taking the views of Lloyds Banking Group staff and setting these within the
context of our understanding of the power of community investments, as
documented in current literature.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
2.The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund 2012: what
we learned
In 2012, 836 organisations applied to the Lloyds Banking Group Community
Fund. Of these organisations, 62% were registered charities, 24% were not for
profit organisations (e.g. sports clubs), 6% were schools and 8% were
companies or other organisations. Two projects were selected in each of the 66
locations which were part of the Olympic Torch Route.
Understanding communities
In order to contextualise our understanding of the changes experienced by
communities, we first asked those participating in the survey what they consider
to be their “community”. 72% of those who responded to the survey had a
geographical understanding of their community. This area ranged in size from a
village to a county. 24% of respondents stated that their community was a
specific group of people, those with a particular need, rather than geographically
based. 8% of respondents did not provide a definition.
What was the funding used for?
Those supported by the Community Fund used the investment in three main
ways (some projects used the funding in more than one way, therefore
percentages do not add up to 100):
� Directly delivering activities to young people and their families. This
included grants for travel to youth camps, training courses for local
swimmers, support through hospices for ill children and their families,
providing hardship funds so that other children can access activities and
supporting young people with autism to develop their mobile communications
in everyday life. 56% of projects used the funding in this way.
Definitions of community
“Our village, the farming community surrounding it and the neighbouringvillages and local small rural town.”
“Individuals who live in the local area and interact together and work togetheras a community.”
“Anybody willing to travel to use our service so they may not live locally butwe get to know them. They are local to us because they have a child withDown syndrome.”
“To define local community is to work together to enhance the lives of those inthe community itself. In Northern Ireland this can be made more difficultbecause of cultural differences. [Our project] strive[s] to bring communitiestogether especially those with Special needs which is the aim of ourClub/Project.”
“The "local community" is made up from people living in our local area, whointeract and support each other.”
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
� Purchasing or replacing equipment and facilities used to deliver
activities. This included developing a picnic area, contributing towards new
changing facilities, purchasing of camping equipment and providing all
weather surfaces for therapy centres. 40% of projects used the funding in this
way.
� Supporting the strategic development of the organisation. One
organisation used the funding to employ a specialist to evaluate their services
and produce a medium and long-term strategy for their future development.
� 8% of projects did not state how they used the funding.
The organisations were asked the extent to which they were able to bring in
additional community resources to support the delivery of the projects, for
example using community land and facilities. 64% of those surveyed stated that
they had been able to bring in community resources to an extent, with 24%
stating that this was to a great extent.
88% of the projects involved people participating in the activities who had not
participated in those kinds of activities before. In addition, in 63% of cases, the
activities were also organised and delivered by people who had not been
involved in activities before. 100% of those surveyed felt that the project would
increase the chance of people getting involved in future activities.
In some cases, organisations reported that the funding had been a “lifeline” and
had enabled them to continue delivering support to local people. Whilst any
funding and supportive activity should create positive benefits to those
individuals it targets, there is a question as to the sustainability of the outcomes
for the organisation. Both staff at Lloyds Banking Group and those projects
interviewed for this research stressed the importance of the fund not being used
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Different uses of funding
“The funding was used to support girls going to a large camp withinternational visitors. The girls were given a grant towards the cost whichincluded travel. The girls had many opportunities at camp which willcontribute to greater personal development in non-educational areas. Theyalso supported other girls with more fund raising to help cover costs.”
“The funds were used to improve the facilities and purchase or renew boxingequipment.”
“To replace ageing tents that were no longer fit for purpose. We were havingproblems equipping the young people for expeditions, and were concernedthat they would begin to form negative opinions about the Unit based on thecondition of the equipment.”
“To develop a picnic area with regard to encouraging wildlife that can be usedfor the school and other groups.”
“Provision of play and leisure activities for disabled young people aged 5-18years old. To enable them to have fun with their friends in a supportive andsave environment - helping them to be active, valued members of a fullyinclusive community.”
to fill emergency funding gaps and instead used as a way of investing in a
sustainable change. Those organisations consulted who used the funding to
invest in development and assets may reap longer term benefits from the fund.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Case study: Thurso Players
Thurso Players were recommended for the funding by someone in an
amateur dramatics society. They are a drama club based at The Mill Theatre,
Thurso, Caithness in the far north of Scotland. The club includes junior, youth
and adult sections and puts on a number of productions each year, in some
cases written, produced and directed by members of the youth and junior
groups. This helps to provide entertainment and leisure activity for local
people, especially in the winter months.
Most of their fundraising for the year is generated through the annual
pantomime, which covers the cost of running the theatre and productions for
the rest of the year. Due to their remote location, they have fewer funding
opportunities than those based in the cities, but are able to gather good
support from the local community. These community assets help the Thurso
Players continue their work, but gaining additional funding or resources to
develop their work can be challenging. “There is no buffer of money.”
The nearest large town with a professional theatre to Thurso is Inverness, a
two hour journey away. The drama club finds it hard to access coaching and
professional support to help their youth and junior sections develop their
skills, and to research and share information about new approaches to
developing their theatrical and performance techniques.
The funding received from Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund has been
used to bring professional prosthetics staff to the theatre to run a training
session on make-up and prosthetics. This has been used by youth members
to run their latest version of Roald Dahl’s The Witches. The club also took a
group of junior members to Inverness to see a play, to observe how other
people put on their productions.
The second part of the funding has been used to purchase a smart TV which
can be used by members to screen and share their internet research into new
productions and theatre techniques. Previously videos were viewed on a
mobile ‘phone or laptop. It has also been used to screen the rehearsals so
that the junior members can observe their performance from the audience’s
perspective.
According to the Chairman of Thurso Players, they have “invested in things
that can reap benefits for years to come… we are investing in our own future
and ability to deliver.” He feels that they would not have been able to invest in
this development without the fund as they had not managed to access this
kind of funding previously. In addition, participating in the process created a
“buzz” amongst the juniors, as they were asked to help develop ideas of how
best to spend the money.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Changes for the organisations
The aim of the fund was to be able to support organisations at grass roots level
of communities. In addition to directly supporting organisations with financial
resources, it was anticipated that participating in the application and voting
process would also have indirect benefits for those involved.
Those interviewed for this research expressed a great deal of enthusiasm for
participating in the voting process. They felt that it encouraged them to be more
creative in the ways in which they communicated their work to the local
community, that being part of a process under the Lloyds Banking Group name
gave them credibility to address local organisations and that it also helped them
to clarify their description of their work. One member of staff at the Lloyds
Banking Group felt that this was a crucial part of the process: understanding
and defining their USP (unique selling point). This is seen as a way of leaving
an indirect legacy from the funding; building the capacity of the organisations to
continue to raise awareness and access resources.
There were a number of key short-term outcomes for the organisations, which
can be seen in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Outcomes for organisations
� 88% of those surveyed stated that they had gained experience of applying for
funding, with 25% stating that this had happened to a ‘great’ extent.
� 79% of those surveyed felt that applying for the funding had helped them to
develop new project ideas, with 25% stating that this happened to a ‘great’
extent.
� 88% of those surveyed stated that they had been able to make links with new
people or organisations within the community, with 21% stating that this had
happened to a ‘great’ extent.
� 96% stated that they had been able to grow the support base for their
organisation, with 25% stating that this had happened to a ‘great’ extent.
Overall, local organisations were able to benefit from increased publicity, with
the media campaign coordinated by Lloyds Banking Group helping successful
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Gainexperience ofapplying for
funding
Developnew project
ideas
Make linkswith newpeople or
organisationsin the
community
Growing thesupport base
of theorganisation
Not at all
Hardly at all
To some extent
To a fairly great extent
To a great extent
organisations to further raise their profile within the local press. Organisations
were able to access funding which helped them to deliver their activities, and in
a number of cases, free up resources from fundraising to deliver activities.
Changes for the local area
In addition to the direct benefits of investments for the organisations and those
supported, there are wider benefits to the local area. Those consulted as part of
the research had varying definitions of their community, and therefore the
effects will vary from place to place, dependent on the size and makeup of the
perceived community, and level of interaction with the organisation. The results
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Case study: Calderdale SmartMove
Calderdale SmartMove is a registered charity that assists homeless and
vulnerably housed people to find accommodation in Calderdale. They support
individuals to find safe and secure accommodation using a support worker
and mentor model. They work with people for up to 15 months.
The people they work with tend to have a number of challenges they need to
overcome to make the transition to stable accommodation. These include
debt, drug misuse, domestic violence and learning difficulties. Calderdale
SmartMove helps them to find social housing or private rented
accommodation, supporting them to navigate the housing and support
systems.
For those moving into a new property, they often have nothing to take with
them. Calderdale SmartMove has found that for many, moving into a
completely empty property and with no personal possessions can cause
negative outcomes, such as depression.
The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund was used to provide starter
packs for around 200 people moving into new accommodation. The packs
included food and hygiene products to help settling into a new home. As one
staff member stated “It’s not much but at least it’s something.” The idea is to
provide people with something tangible to start to build their home with.
People they support are “delighted” that they can help to find a property, the
home packs are the “icing on the cake”.
Calderdale SmartMove has been involved in a similar type of fundraising
initiative before, when they were nominated for the local authority Charity of
The Year award. The Finance Director of Calderdale SmartMove felt that both
campaigns involved a significant amount of work. Through local campaigning
they won 3500 votes which involved marketing and gaining media exposure.
He felt this experience gave them the impetus to share their message with
new people. An example of this was giving a talk at the team meeting at a
local call centre. Approximately 500 people attended the meeting and were
able to find out more about what they do. Since this meeting, the staff at the
call centre have continued to offer donations from their fundraising activities.
Almost more important to Calderdale SmartMove than the money was that
they could use the Lloyds Banking Group name. They were able to say they
were a community champion for Lloyds in Yorkshire and Humberside, which
helped raise their credibility with funders.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
presented below are the perceptions of the representatives of funded
organisations.
The following changes were reported by organisations, as seen in Figure 3.
� 92% felt that there was an increased awareness of their work within the
community.
� 88% felt that there was an increase in new people were taking part in activities
� 65% felt that there was an increase in people generally taking part in local
groups, activities and events
� 71% felt that there was an increase in the links between different
organisations and groups
� 79% felt that there was an increase in people feeling proud of their community
� 67% felt that there was an increase in the awareness and use of community
resources
Figure 3: Changes for the local area
Overall, these perceived changes paint a positive picture of potential outcomes
for local communities. There appears to be increased interactions between
individuals and organisations, both in terms of links and participation in activities.
An increased awareness of the work of local organisations appears to be the
most significant change, which corresponds to the way the fund is structured.
The on-going challenge for those organisations who received funding is to
capitalise on this increased awareness and use it to generate further activities
and resources.
The role of the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Those involved in the process expressed satisfaction in the way in which the
funding rounds were conducted and the ease of the process overall. Their
perceptions of Lloyds Banking Group’s role was of one that understood the
importance of local investments, and were able to lend their brand and credibility
to supporting local organisations to raise much needed funding.
Decreased a lot
Don’t know
120%
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Decreased slightly
Stayed the same
Increased slightly
Increased a lot
Awar
enes
s of
you
r wor
k
New
peo
ple
taking
par
t in
your
activities
Peo
ple
gene
rally
taking
par
t in
loca
l
grou
ps, e
vent
s an
d ac
tivities
Link
s be
twee
n diffe
rent
loca
l
orga
nisa
tions
and
gro
ups
Peo
ple
feel p
roud
of
their c
omm
unity
Awar
enes
s/us
e of
com
mun
ity
reso
urce
s (e
.g. lan
d or
facillitie
s)
57%
4%4% 9%
26%
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Changes referred to for organisations and the community are what we consider
to be a total (gross) amount of change that is observed. In order to understand
the specific role that the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund provided,
survey respondents were asked to consider the extent to which the changes
were a result of the funding.
Figure 4: The extent to which changes in the community are a result of the Community Fundinvestment
Figure 4 illustrates that 92% of respondents felt that local changes could be
attributed to the investment. Of this 92%, 9% stated that any changes were
completely due to the investment, 26% stated that they are mainly due to the
investment and 57% felt that they were partly due to the investment.
In addition to considering the role that the funding played, respondents were
also asked to consider the extent to which activities might have happened
without the funding. When looking at the value of investments, it is essential to
compare results with the ‘do nothing’ option.
Figure 5: The extent to which projects would have taken place
As can be seen in Figure 5, many of the projects felt that their activities would
have taken place, but on a reduced scale or over a longer time period. 13% of
30%25%20%15%10%5%0%
No, definately not
No, probably not
Yes, but not to the same standard as with the funding
Yes, but on a smaller scale
Yes, but it would have taken longer
Yes, with funding from other sources
They are completely due to the investment
They are mainly due to the investment
They are mainly due to the investment
Hardly at all
Not at all
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Summary of findings
The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund offered some exciting opportunities
to local organisations in 2012. Feedback from all organisations that were funded
was positive; they appreciated the ease of the process, the support and media
opportunities. Organisations that were successful in receiving the funding
worked extremely hard to generate awareness in their local communities about
their work, developing clear messages and new approaches to increasing their
support base.
The funding has supported local activity which people care about, and in many
cases has been invested in projects which will sustain beyond the duration of the
Olympics. The fund has helped to bring people together and in many cases has
helped to bring forward activity which may have struggled to find funding. The
challenge for the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund team will be to gather
longitudinal data from the one year evaluation which helps them to understand
longer term gains from the funding. The above stories and survey results show
that the initial pilot of this programme has been successful in testing an
approach to funding, engaging and supporting community organisations and
growing awareness about their work.
Case study: DASH
DASH is a local charity in Ceredigion which provides respite weekends for
disabled children in their county. They are commissioned by the local
authority to deliver 10 of these weekends per year, and each year they seek
additional funding for a further two weekends.
The children and young people that attend the weekends have high support
needs and require 24 hour care from staff. The breaks are intended to benefit
children and young people, giving them a chance to develop their confidence,
independence and social skills. It also provides a break for carers and other
members of the family.
The funding provided by the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
provided two weekends away; six children attended each weekend.
Previously the organisation had raised funds from multiple sources, which
was time consuming for the staff. Fundraising has become harder in recent
years, with increased competition for resources.
The fundraiser found the voting to be a very interesting process. They had to
think outside the box and it resulted in a successful team effort; bringing
together all members at the Olympic event in Aberystwth. They felt that the
collective approach helped them to be successful; they had to “get out and
about” and make a lot of effort.
respondents felt that their project would not have taken place. When analysing
this information alongside the qualitative interview feedback, it is clear that
although many organisations feel that their activities may have happened
anyway, the speed at which they were able to obtain funding helped to reduce
the need to spend staff time sourcing funding. In addition, the added value of the
marketing and press coverage may create more sustainable outcomes than if
resources had been accessed through other means.
3. Looking forward to 2013 investments: what could the
Lloyds Banking Community Fund achieve this year?
In 2013, the fund has expanded to cover 400 communities across the UK.
Following from the areas and projects in 2012, each area is now more clearly
defined along local authority boundaries. The fund has also expanded its remit,
moving from a youth focus to all areas of the community.
The nominations and shortlist activities have been completed and the public
vote will commence in September 2013. From the applications which have been
shortlisted, we know:
� 95% of organisations are within five miles of their local Lloyds Banking Group
branch
� 79% of projects aim to support young people
� 57% of projects aim to support families
� 46% of projects aim to support those with special needs
� 36% of organisations want to grow and existing project; 21% want to develop
a new project
� 32% of projects offer a way of bringing people together; 18% offer skills and
training; 18% want to offer a community event
Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund: staff aspirations
The aspirations of Lloyds Banking Group colleagues for this year’s fund ranged
depending on their role in the organisation. Their responses fell into four broad
areas:
� The opportunity to help more people in local areas: the scaling up of the
Community Fund increases the potential numbers of people supported,
opening up the funding to around 1600 organisations. A number of members
of staff felt that this was a great opportunity to achieve small incremental
changes across a large group of people, which cumulatively may result in a
wider impact.
� Supporting groups to communicate their work locally: staff held high
aspirations for not only supporting organisations to increase their
communications, but also being able to share best practice in how to do this.
There was a keen emphasis on building the capacity of organisations to raise
their profile locally.
� Creating a positive link between customers and the bank. The Community
Fund is one of a number of activities that Lloyds Banking Group uses to
engage their customers and communities outside of the commercial services
it delivers. The Community Fund offers a way of creating a positive local
dialogue with customers and staff expressed an interest in maximising this
opportunity.
� Understanding the tangible changes from the successful projects. Staff felt
that in 2012 the investments resulted in exciting and positive projects, which
helped local people. There is a desire in the 2013 funding to gain a greater
appreciation of what this means in the longer term, something which will be
questioned in subsequent evaluation activities.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Community investment in focus: what can be achieved with small
investments?
In considering community investment, we first make the distinction between
individual and community outcomes. An individual outcome is something that
changes in the life of an individual, which is often intended to help to improve
their life. This change can be achieved by accessing one to one support,
participating in group activities or receiving goods. Community outcomes are
broader and cover the changes experienced by a number of people, usually
intended to improve their lives. Achieving community outcomes is harder, as
people individually may need different support to achieve the change, and there
may be structural barriers in place which stop the community collectively to
move forward.
Collectively, lots of individual changes can result in a large total amount of
change. This is, however, most often evidenced and expressed at the individual
level.
We make this distinction to help understand the context in which a programme
like the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund can offer support, and the way
in which it chooses to invest its funds. The remainder of this chapter looks at
current thinking on how to maximise the benefits of small investments, and
understand the change that results.
Small grants, big difference: making an impact with small investments
As Brick et al. have highlighted, “[s]mall sums, carefully targeted, have achieved
tangible change.” Much of the literature argues that small grants, especially
when unrestricted, can cover costs that charities might otherwise struggle to
pay.1 The capacity-building2 of staff, volunteers and even beneficiaries is one
such activity, which funders often overlook, but which nevertheless can increase
a charity’s ability to improve its efficiency, manage its resources better,
strengthen its resilience and achieve success in its goals.3 Using findings from a
Lloyds Banking Group TSB Foundation Scotland evaluation, Reid and Gibb
(2004) find that funding capacity building for small third sector organisations can
empower the latter to best achieve its goals, or enable an organisation to take
full advantage of opportunities for growth and development, whilst maintaining
its sustainability and autonomy.4 Whilst small grants can’t be considered a
replacement for long-term funding, there is no doubt that they can make a large
impact when used to build capacity.
Small grants to small charities have been proven by researchers, time and time
again, to work effectively as a “seed fund” to draw in further donations.5 Brick,
Kail, Järvinen and Fiennes (2009: 4) find that smaller grants hold huge potential
for attracting other funders, whilst, through a controlled experiment, List and
Lucking-Reiley (2002: 218) found that the use of seed-funding by a charity can,
in the case of public donations, “sharply increas[e] the participation rate of
donors and the average gift size received from participating donors.”
Similarly, according to The Funding Network’s (TFN) 10th anniversary impact
report (2012: 3), 62% of its funded projects report that initial TFN funding has
enabled them to leverage additional funding from other sources. A charity
funded by TFN explains, “TFN gave us the funds to grow, to believe in what we
were doing and to achieve enough to impress other donors.”6 Similarly, the
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
voting approach used by Lloyds Banking Group can significantly raise the profile
of grantees, increasing their credibility in the eyes of other potential funders and
awarding them a competitive edge.
As well as drawing in additional money, seed funding has other positive benefits
for small charities. It often acts as a source for new relationships (business
partners, other charities, corporate contacts), new trustees and volunteers, and
the securing of publicity and awards.7 It is also used to pilot new ideas, which
can then be scaled-up with other funding should they prove feasible.8
As Ludlow (2010) highlights, small grants can be harnessed to buy assets.
Small grants can be used by charities to purchase, for example, equipment
without which they would not be able to deliver the service or the change they
need. Small capital investments can therefore build the capacity of a charity to
achieve its mission in the longer term.9
Small grants can be harnessed to leverage a huge impact for individuals. Small
grants to individuals and families are seen by many donors as “one of the most
direct and effective ways of making a real difference in people’s lives.”10
Whereas there is little in the literature to support the idea that helping a single
individual can create structural-level change or an impact across a whole
community,11 there is no doubt that using small grants to create change for one
person can be situated on a longer pathway to change for community-level or
wider outcomes.
Large national and international charities provide further examples of how small
investments to make significant changes for individuals can be situated
amongst a programme of broader activities to achieve structural change. Plan
UK allows donors to contribute small amounts of funding to sponsor specific
children. Individual changes for these children are linked to wider policy,
advocacy and campaigning efforts, which – when combined – can feasibly aim
to create structural change.12 The key to ensuring that an investment in a single
individual has a wider societal impact is to situate that change along a pathway,
which can be articulated through a Theory of Change.
As the Centre for Theory of Change asserts, the Theory of Change approach
hinges upon defining all of the necessary conditions for bringing about a given
long-term goal.13 nef argues that the Theory of Change approach allows its
users an “intimate understanding of how an intervention creates an impact on
the lives of those affected”.14 By using such an approach, funded organisations
can be supported to understand how they achieve their goals. This may require
additional support to funded organisations, but would increase the information
available to Lloyds Banking Group as to how the investments create change.
Small levels of investment at different stages of the change process, such as
investing in training to build the capacity of community volunteers, can
contribute to higher-level impacts.15 The same can be said for an Assets-Based
approach, in which people and communities (and their respective human and
material assets) form the basis of a plan for change. Such an approach involves
the co-production of services, in which service-users are seen as assets in
themselves, and professionals and service-users work together to achieve their
common goal. As nef and NESTA highlight, “[w]here activities are co-produced
in this way, both services and neighbourhoods become far more effective
agents of change.”16
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
Corporate giving in context
The research findings above show that the key to creating lasting change is to
invest in activities which help to build the capacity of organisations to generate
further income and to understand how investing in organisations that create
individual change can be scaled up to achieve wider changes. In addition to
considering the ways in which small grants can be catalysts, we also consider
how corporate donors can maximise the links that they make between their core
business and their community activities.
Lloyds Banking Group has a number of community programmes, including the
Community Fund, which link their branches, staff and local communities. The
staff in branches are the Group’s strongest link to local communities, and this
programme is an example of how colleagues’ skills and local knowledge can be
used to better support their communities. At nef consulting, we see this
programme as part of a journey for corporate organisations like Lloyds Banking
Group; to consider how they can constantly improve their knowledge of, and
links to, local communities, bridging any gaps between specific community
activities and the products and services they offer to customers in those
communities.
The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund has so far harnessed some of the
assets that are available to maximise the link between the organisation and the
community: the use of colleagues to recommend groups to be funded and
support the administration of the application process; local campaigns
supported by the central Community Fund team; local organisations and their
support networks using their skills and connections to raise awareness about
local causes; and a collective celebration of those who are successful.
In line with the aspirations of Lloyds Banking Group colleagues, we would echo
a desire to better understand how the engagement between the bank, its
customers and local organisations is working in practice, building on the links
established through the Community Fund and other activities. Understanding
how the 2013 funding creates change could help Lloyds Banking Group and its
local branches to better understand the needs of local communities and develop
and diversity the ways in which local branches can better support their
communities. This may in turn lead to a better business offer at a local level.
Understanding the impact of 2013 investments
Researchers and practitioners agree that measuring and demonstrating impact
is a key stage of the grant-making process. It can strengthen a funder’s future
programme-planning efforts, help to showcase the achievements of a
programme and makes a funder more transparent in the public’s eyes. The
nature of the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund means that it invests
according to the priorities defined by local communities. Understanding the
common and collective impact of the investments can therefore be challenging.
There are three key areas of measurement which need to be undertaken to
effectively articulate the impact of an investment: the change that happens; the
attribution (how much credit you can take for any change); and an appreciation
of what might have happened anyway (the deadweight).
The Community Fund team could use the findings from this research and on-
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
going evaluation activities to map out common outcomes which may be
experienced by most, if not all projects, which would help to collect and collate
more in-depth data on the changes that are experienced at a local level. Any
outcomes that are selected should be verified with representatives of the
projects, to check that they are commonly understood and expressed in a way
which is meaningful for them. These outcomes could be measured through the
post-project evaluation forms, and consistent data could be gathered at the
national level. It’s important to stress that this data needs to go beyond what
has been gathered to date, moving from “what happened?” to “what changed?”
Any updates to evaluation processes should also include gathering data on
attribution (the role of the fund) and deadweight (what might have happened
anyway). This needs to be reported alongside outcome findings, to ensure an
accurate portrayal of impact is made.
The upcoming voting and awards rounds offer Lloyds Banking Group the
opportunity to put in place monitoring and evaluation requirements that can help
to capture some of this impact, in a way which is proportional to the amount
funded. This will help with any future review of the success of the funding.
Conclusions from the research
Overall, the aspirations for this year’s funding appear to build on what was
observed through the projects funded in 2012. There is a desire to fund
activities which grow local organisations and create better ties between the
Lloyds Banking Group and the local communities it serves. There is also a
desire to better understand and evidence how change happens, so that the
growth of the fund can be effectively evaluated. There are challenges ahead for
consistently measuring the impact of the projects, but there is a keen desire
within Lloyds Banking Group to put this in place and fully understand whether
the Community Fund represents a good business decision to help link the bank
and its local communities.
The Lloyds Banking Group is not alone in the banking sector for offering support
to communities. A number of other banking institutions offer similar local
investments to charities, reflecting the priorities of customers and staff. These
include the Nationwide Big Local Scheme, Santander Community Plus and the
Cooperative Membership Community Fund. However, this piece of research is a
starting point for Lloyds Banking Group to better understand how its
investments are creating change for communities, long after the donations are
made. Lloyds Banking Group is moving past the premise that the act of giving
alone can create change, and is using the data it collects from projects and after
projects have finished, to start to scrutinise the impact that it is able to create
through the programme. By taking the step of publicising an assessment of how
it performed in 2012, Lloyds Banking Group has set a benchmark of the
changes that the programme made through its pilot phase, and can look forward
to seeing if those changes can be replicated as the programme is rolled out to
further communities. It also offers the Community Fund a way of seeking
feedback on how it is measuring its impact, which can be used to inform future
measurements of success of the 2013 funding.
Our final thoughts rest upon how the potential success of this fund can be used
more widely within the Lloyds Banking Group to understand how community
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
activities can bridge the link between local branches, customers and community
organisations. A greater understanding of this relationship and its potential to
deliver local impact could help to align core business activities more closely to
communities’ needs, supporting them better through all of the work that Lloyds
Banking Group does. The analysis of this year’s performance and evaluation
activities should be used to inform the measurement of impact of the 2013
investments.
We look forward to seeing the results of the upcoming funding rounds, and the
resulting changes for local communities in the coming year.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
1 B. Brick, A. Kail, J. Järvinen and T. Fiennes (2009), Lessons from funders
and charities, p.4.
2 Capacity-building here is understood as activities that improve charity
effectiveness. The Foundation Centre provides a bibliography of
resources to evidence the impact of capacity-building activities on its
website, available at
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/topical/capacity.html
3 A. Sherman (no date available), “Multiplying Effective Charity”, American
Outlook, available at http://www.americanoutlook.org/multiplying-effective-
charity.html.
4 M. Reid and K. Gibb, ‘Capacity building’ in the third sector and the use ofindependent consultants: evidence from Scotland, A paper presented at
the International Society for Third Sector Research 6th International
Conference, Ryerson University, Toronto, July 11-14 2004.
5 See J. List and D. Lucking-Reiley (2002), “The effects of seed money and
refunds on charitable giving: experimental evidence from a university
capital campaign”, The Journal of Political Economy, 110:1. The Funding
Network (2012), 10th Anniversary Impact Report, B. Brick, A. Kail, J.
Järvinen and T. Fiennes (2009), op.cit., and J. Andreoni, A. Payne and S.
Smith, (2013), Do grants to charities crowd out their income? Evidencefrom the UK, Bristol: The Centre for Market and Public Organisation.
6 The Funding Network (2012), op.cit., p.15.
7 The Funding Network (2012), op.cit., p.10
8 M. Hulme (no date), National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO),
Making a Big Difference with Small Grants: Paper for the VSSNConference, p.1. B. Brick, A. Kail, J. Järvinen and T. Fiennes (2009),
op.cit, pp.11-12. J. Andreoni, A. Payne and S. Smith (2013), op.cit, p.3.
9 Joe Ludlow (2010), Capitalising the Voluntary and Community Sector: AReview, London: NCVO Funding Commission, pp.1-32.
10 The Silver Lady Fund, quote from case study of individual and family
support grants issued by the Fund, available at
http://www.silverladyfund.org/activities.htm.
11 As Tris Lumley notes (“Why charities must use impact to understand
beneficiaries”, The Guardian, 18 June 2013, available at
http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-
network/2013/jun/18/charities-impact-measurement), charities have been
criticized for claiming to have achieved high-impact social change through
activities that are solely focused on individuals.
12 This example is based on Plan UK’s “Because I am a Girl” Campaign. For
more information visit http://www.plan-uk.org/what-we-
do/campaigns/because-i-am-a-girl/.
13 The Centre for Theory of Change, “How Does Theory of Change Work?”,
available at http://www.theoryofchange.org/what-is-theory-of-change/how-
does-theory-of-change-work/#1.
14 New Economics Foundation, “Creating a Theory of Change Masterclass”,
available at http://www.nef-consulting.co.uk/sroicfx/sroi-masterclass/sroi-
theory-of-change-masterclass/.
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15 For more on the Assets-Based Approach see Tara O’Leary, Ingrid Burkett
and Kate Braithwaite (2011), Appreciating Assets, Dunfermline: Carnegie
UK Trust, available at http://www.iacdglobal.org/publications-and-
resources/IACD-Publications/appreciating-assets.
16 nef and NESTA (2010), Right Here, Right Now: Taking co-production intothe mainstream, London: NESTA, p.3. See also nef (2008), Co-production: A Manifesto for growing the core economy, London: nef.
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Understanding the outcomes of local investments: The Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund
nef consulting is a social enterprise founded and owned by the think tank nef
(the new economics foundation) to help public, private and third sector
organisations put its ideas into action. We are recognised experts in Social
Return On Investment (SROI) and well-being measurement. By adapting and
applying nef’s tools to prove and improve true social, economic and
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the heart of organisational decision-making. To find out more about nef
consulting visit www.nef-consulting.co.uk.