[P]roject John, a charity that supports homeless young people in Barrow, has received a significant cash boost by two leading national funders, providing much needed funds for its new Hub.
With a £75,000 grant from Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, and a further award of £45,000 from The Big Lottery Fund, this new funding will help the charity provide essential support and advice to young people in desperate need on issues including housing options, training and debt advice through its new one stop shop centre, known as the Hub.
Small, specialist charities like Project John deliver vital services for local people and communities but are often under-resourced and lack funding to help more people in need. Current commissioning trends also mean councils are increasingly moving away from awarding small charities grants to deliver vital public services and instead are issuing large contracts, which small charities are less likely to win.
Both Lloyds Bank Foundation and The Big Lottery Fund share an ambition to strengthen small charities and provide essential financial support to support their day to day work talking disadvantage in their local community. Charities funded by the Foundation also benefit from further support to help strengthen their organisation and make them more sustainable for the future.
Nicola Kell, Manager at Project John said: “We’re grateful to Lloyds Bank Foundation for our recent grant. We’ve recently developed a new hub in Barrow, meaning we can offer young, homeless people a one stop shop where they can come and receive support and advice on housing options, training or even debt management. The funding from Lloyds gives us much needed financial stability for the first time and means we can begin to expand the range of services on offer. Getting funding for our core costs is one thing, the additional £45,000 we received from the Big Lottery Fund was icing on the cake. It will cover the costs of a new youth worker we can now employ, who will be tasked with delivering drop in support and activities at the centre. Over the coming year, we hope to support at least 2,000 young people at the Hub. We wouldn’t have been able to anticipate reaching so many people in desperate need without this support.”
Paul Streets OBE, Chief Executive of Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales, said: “Small charities like Project John play a critical but often unseen role in local communities, supporting people often pushed to the fringes of society. But these charities are facing unprecedented pressures from funding cuts and with growing demand for their services, many are struggling to stay afloat. In this environment, funding from grant makers can literally mean the difference between survival and closure and as funders, we have a collective duty to believe in those charities that are making a difference on the ground. By working together Lloyds Bank Foundation and The Big Lottery Fund are delighted to support Project John in its valuable work helping young people move on from homelessness.”
Charities interested in applying for the next round of funding should visit www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk
