TLC for charities, Charitable Foundation

It is a separate entity managed by a Board of Trustees who determine the policies and decide on the grants to be made. Some of the Trustees are appointed by Coventry Building Society, the majority are independent.

Each year Coventry Building Society donates £50,000 to the Foundation to provide grants to small, local registered charities that are based or active within the region covered by our branch network.

Priority is given to groups or activities aimed at improving the quality of life among groups who are disadvantaged or deprived, the consequence of which may otherwise lead to social exclusion.

We welcome applications that focus on:

• Young people, particularly those who are disadvantaged
• Vulnerable groups such as the frail elderly, people with physical disability, people with learning difficulties or those who are mentally ill
• Small neighbourhood groups in areas experiencing the greatest disadvantage
• Supporting communities and voluntary organisations through assisting them in the achievement of social and community development

We wish to support as many good causes as possible and therefore the maximum single donation will normally be £3,000. As a general rule, donations are normally between £500 and £2,000.

If you represent a registered charity and are interested in applying for a grant from the Foundation, we'd love to hear from you.

How can you apply?

Simply complete our application form and return it, together with the supporting documentation to the address on the form. In some circumstances we may request further information before considering the application.

How will we assess your application?

On receipt, we will consider your application to see if, in our opinion, it meets the objectives of the Foundation. If it does, it will be considered further by the Trustees at their quarterly meeting, which takes place in February, May, August and November. If it does not, the application will be declined. All applications will be acknowledged. Unfortunately it may not always be possible to support all applications even if they fully meet the Foundation's criteria. We reserve the right to support those charitable projects we believe to be worthy of our support.

The Poppy Appeal

This cause clearly means a lot to our Members and our ongoing partnership with The Royal British Legion continues to flourish - the donations from our Poppy products are the biggest they've ever received.

The first Poppy product was launched in 2008 as a one-year fixed rate bond. Its success led to a £1.6 million donation to The Legion's Poppy Appeal.

A further £1.8 million was donated in 2009 as the range was extended to include Poppy Save, a competitive easy access savings account, and a two-year Poppy Bond.

This took the total to a staggering £3.4 million donation for The Poppy Appeal.

"The Coventry's huge £1.8 million donation meant the 2009 Poppy Appeal has broken all previous records," said Russell Thompson, The Legion's Director of National Events and Fundraising. "I'm delighted that the nation's beloved appeal continues to go so well, and the Coventry really has been instrumental to its success."

Age UK

Volunteering

One example of the type of volunteering we encourage is for our staff to participate in befriending and home visiting. Volunteers assist Age UK by visiting older people for tea and a chat, escorting them on doctors or hospital appointments, supporting social introductions or helping with shopping and driving.

Fundraising

Members of staff have climbed mountains, jumped out of planes, dressed up, dressed down, run marathons and completed many other feats of endurance and general craziness to raise money for Age UK - achieving, with the support and generosity of so many of our members, a running total of over £75,000 so far.

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