Supporting Social Inclusion

Provident Financial Group has developed seven partnerships with community foundations throughout the UK to distribute grants effectively to organisations supporting the communities where their business operates.  Foundation Scotland worked with Provident Financial Group from 2018 to 2022.

The Provident Social Impact Fund (Scotland) aims to support social inclusion. The programme will invest in activities that seek to alleviate the underlying problems that prevent social inclusion and enjoyment of a full modern life. The grants panel look for projects and activities that address need identified through consultation and/or engagement with potential beneficiaries and have a clear focus on the positive results they plan to achieve. Projects need to be inclusive of people in the locality regardless of their background, offer wider benefit and be cost-effective.

During our partnership with Provident Financial Group we've distributed 29 awards totalling £115,286.

This has included projects such as 

• I Am Me Scotland, a charity that aims to promote equality and diversity by raising awareness of disability-related harassment and abuse
• STAR Project working towards improving local people’s quality of life through a variety of services such as counselling, befriending, and educational workshops 
• Glasgow Children's Holiday Scheme which allows young people from more socially deprived parts of Glasgow to get away on a short activity break at their caravans in Wemyss Bay Holiday Park for either a weekend or mid-week break.

What are community foundations?

Community foundations are place-based funders, working with local donors, funders, and businesses to ensure that their grantmaking is location-specific, tackling issues pertinent to their locality. Therefore, their insight and expertise are crucial to Provident’s partnerships and grantmaking.

Through their business operations, they encounter organisations and charities doing amazing things in their communities through their services. They are often made up of people who have grown up there and feel a deep connection and understanding of the social mobility issues that may exist in that area, making them ideally placed to address local issues. By working with community foundations, Provident have the confidence they are directing their funding to the places where it is needed the most. In doing so, they contribute to the sustainability of the small charity sector.