North East employer the Banks Group has continued to extend the support it provides to community groups and charities after making grants totalling almost £375,000 in its last financial year.
The family-owned firm runs a range of different funds across the north of England and Scotland which are designed to deliver tangible, long-term benefits to the communities in which it is active.
Around £300,000 of the County Durham-headquartered firm’s grant giving in the last year has been focused on recipients in north east England, with more than two-thirds of that figure going to community groups and good causes in its home county.
Over 80 different organisations have received support, ranging from grassroots charities, sports clubs, community groups and parish councils through to major cultural, environmental and charitable organisations such as Beamish Museum, Durham Wildlife Trust, Locomotion, New Writing North and disability inclusion charity Integrating.
The Banks Group’s funds are independently managed by Point North (formerly the County Durham Community Foundation), with grant applications assessed by funding panels which include representatives of local communities where appropriate.
The total amount of grants awarded by Banks has now passed the £7.5m mark, while alongside this, Banks Group staff have raised well over £100,000 for a range of dedicated charities that they have chosen to adopt, including The Alzheimer’s Society, Bright Red, The Tiny Lives Trust, The Samaritans and Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.
Banks has run its main fund, the Banks Community Fund, since 1997, but its commitment to supporting local communities dates back to 1976, when the company first began operations, and forms a central part of its longstanding ‘Development With Care’ approach to its work.
Lucy Hinds, executive assistant at the Banks Group, adds: “Development With Care ensures we work in a responsible manner, with particular consideration for the local communities in which we operate, and part of this is ensuring we enhance the facilities and opportunities that their residents can access.
“We are proud to have supported hundreds of charitable and environmental causes over the years and to have helped to deliver long-lasting positive changes that make a real difference to people’s lives.
“Recipients regularly tell us that, at a time when their costs are continuing to rise and funding can be very hard to find, the grants we provide make the crucial difference in enabling them to meet the needs of the people and places they support.
“As we approach our 50th anniversary, our commitment to communities remains as strong as it always has been and we’re always open to hearing new ideas for how we can help community groups extend and enhance the positive impacts they make.”
Michelle Cooper, CEO at Point North, said: “The Banks Group is an exceptional partner in creating social value across the North East, with a dedicated focus on working alongside local people to bring about real, lasting change.
“Through their Banks Community Fund, which Point North proudly administers, they’ve awarded over £7.5 million in grants to projects that create opportunities, support vital services and bring people together.
“We’re proud to work with a team that places community at the core of everything they do, and we look forward to the continued impact our partnership will deliver across the region.”
Anyone from a community close to a Banks Group project who is interested in applying for funding from the Banks Community Fund should contact the company via the enquiry form on its website (www.banksgroup.co.uk/contact-us/) to find out if their group or project is eligible.