The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales

Unrestricted grants of up to £75,000 over 3 years (i.e. £25,000 per year) are available to support registered charities and Community Interest Companies in England, Wales and the Isle of Man that are led by and working with Deaf and Disabled people aged 18 and over who are experiencing hardship and barriers to accessing services.

Who can apply: registered charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) in England, Wales and the Isle of Man with an annual income of between £25,000 and £500,000.

Key words: Deaf and Disabled People Aged 17 and Over, Poverty, Cost-of-Living, Advice, Advocacy, Community Engagement and Involvement, Lived Experience, Overcoming Barriers Preventing Access to Services, England and Wales, Isles of Man.

The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is offering grants of £75,000 over three years (up to £25,000 per year) to support registered charities led by and working with Deaf and Disabled people who are experiencing barriers and hardship. The Foundation can also provide up to £500 of accessibility support to enable groups to apply for this programme, including British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters, language translation, scribes and dyslexia software. Tailored additional support may also be available to successful applicants to help them to strengthen their organisation, become more resilient and develop further.

The Foundation considers the term ‘deaf to apply to those who are born deaf or experience hearing loss before spoken language is acquired and regard their deafness as part of their identity and culture rather than as a disability. This forms the Deaf Community and are predominantly British Sign Language (BSL) users. The term also applies to those who have become deafened or hard of hearing in later life, and are more likely to use hearing aids and develop lipreading skills after they have acquired a spoken language and so identify themselves with the hearing community.