Virgin Money has today launched the Virgin Money Foundation – a new, independent charitable foundation that will focus initially on community projects in the North-East of England, and over time will grow to operate nationally.
The Foundation will promote the sustainable regeneration of economically and socially deprived communities in the UK. This will include providing social investment in community housing and building projects, promoting opportunities for youth work and training, as well as investing in projects designed to relieve unemployment. An independent Board of Trustees has been appointed, chaired by Edward Wakefield. Edward was formerly Managing Director at Greenhill, a leading independent investment bank.
The launch follows the announcement in December 2014 that the Government would provide £4 million of funding - £1 million per year for four years - to be granted through the Foundation to support charitable projects in the North-East of England. Having previously announced that it would donate £1 million in 2015 to community projects in the North-East, Virgin Money has today confirmed that it will match the Government’s donation, taking the total of Virgin Money’s donation to £4 million over 4 years. This means that the Foundation has £8 million of committed funding over the next four years. Virgin Money will also cover the full operating costs of the new Foundation. This means that the full £8 million will benefit community projects.
The Virgin Money Foundation is now ready to receive applications for its first round of grants. In this first round, applications for grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 that meet the charitable objectives of the Virgin Money Foundation are invited from community projects in the North-East of England. Applicants will need to show that their projects are strongly rooted in the local community, and that the work they propose to do will make a measurable and sustainable difference in the community.
There will be two rounds of grants over the next nine months, with the first awards expected to be made in November 2015. Full details of the eligibility criteria and the application process can be found at www.virginmoneyfoundation.org.uk
Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Money, said:
"Virgin Money takes its social responsibilities very seriously in all of the communities in which we operate, but particularly in the North-East of England, given our acquisition of Northern Rock in 2012. I am therefore delighted to be launching the new, independent Virgin Money Foundation. Virgin Money will match the donation of £4 million over 4 years pledged by the Government meaning the Foundation can make a positive and sustainable difference, initially in the North East and over time across the whole of the UK.”