Large Grants Programme

Citizens Advice & YouthNet
£300,000 over three years

This grant will fund a unique three year partnership, between YouthNet and Citizens Advice, to support 16-24 year-olds with ground-breaking financial information and advice.

This programme will bring together the strengths of two leading UK charities to ensure that 16-24 year-olds know where to turn to get the help and support they need with vital money matters.

Over the course of three years, YouthNet and Citizens Advice will work together to jointly create new financial Fact Sheets, developed in a tone and style young people relate to, for both TheSite.org and Adviceguide. Financial literacy advice and support will also be created and disseminated in audio format, and for the very first time, through TheSite.org on mobile phones.

Young people often feel disempowered and ignored, especially by “the system”. Helping them to understand their finances, including their rights and responsibilities, can reintroduce a sense of control over their own future, giving them the confidence to tackle other areas of their life which at first may seem daunting.

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Place 2Be

£295,000 over three years

The Place2Be, an early intervention mental health service for children and their families, has received this grant to support the development and expansion of their services in Scotland, England and Wales.

Place2Be works with troubled and unhappy children in schools, to help them understand, address and cope with their emotional reactions to difficulties and challenges. This includes the effects of physical and mental abuse, racial discrimination, parental drug and alcohol problems, street and domestic violence, family breakdown and bullying.

The Foundation grant will help pay for therapists' salaries and development costs to expand the Place2Be's work in Glasgow and Fife, as well as setting up new services in Cardiff, Leeds & Halifax.

This programme will mean that the Place2Be will be able to reach another 10,000 children and their families in some of the most deprived communities across the UK.

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Financial Inclusion Services Yorkshire
£206,000 over three years

Financial Inclusion Services Yorkshire (FISY) is a registered charity that works in partnership with the ethical loan company, Moneyline Yorkshire (MY), and Sheffield Credit Union (SCU), to tackle financial exclusion in the Sheffield area. 

FISY has been awarded this grant by the HBOS Foundation to expand and deliver a financial literacy training project in Sheffield and Halifax. FISY will deliver training that will increase the skills and confidence of individuals in Sheffield and the surrounding areas, to manage their finances, by delivering a programme of training in groups, based on a proven pilot project.

FISY will work closely with Sheffield's Strategic Housing Forum in particular to develop early interventions around money and debt advice for individuals in social housing. For example, to carry out pre tenancy assessments and training sessions to explain the implications of taking tenancies on. This is seen as a very important area of work, given that 75% of people who experience financial exclusion live in social housing. Data from this programme will be captured by Sheffield University to evaluate the economic and social impact of this work.

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Turning Point
£100,000 over two years

Turning Point is the UK’s leading social care organisation. It provides services for people with complex needs, including those affected by drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems, and those with learning disabilities.

With a grant from the HBOS Foundation Turning Point have employed 2 project workers to provide financial advice for people with substance misuse and who are taking the first steps towards turning their lives around. This service has included money management and debt advice, financial advocacy, benefits advice and referral on to appropriate agencies for further advice and support on issues such as housing.

Problematic and sustained drug use often leads to an individual running up large debts to pay for their drug use. It is not unusual for people to have debts amounting to tens of thousands of pounds which can lead to involvement in crime and or prostitution in an attempt to pay off debts.

The Turning Point project has helped people cope with day-to-day responsibilities and money problems which otherwise could appear daunting and insurmountable, support that has also helped individuals to remain drug or alcohol free.

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