Virgin Money Foundation

What motivates you? Where do you want to focus your energy and why? We asked our 2023 cohort of young changemakers what makes them feel galvanised to do the work they do... Do you want to make a difference in your community or a change within yourself? Then join SPARK, our new leadership development programme. Download the info pack here - https://lnkd.in/egYvuDR8 and APPLY TODAY here - https://lnkd.in/eAKgaeag 💫 With thanks to Dami Fawehinmi Navii Media for capturing content. SPARK is funded by Virgin Money Foundation & The National Lottery Community Fund Edward Maxfield Chelsea Pimblott farhad gohar Fatmata B Sesay Ruth Haslam Zeya Dube Finn Oldfield Emma Redfern Lisa E.

It's #GetOnlineWeek and we're thrilled to announce we've received funding from the Virgin Money Foundation to boost our digital skills work! They've awarded us an amazing £100k over the next three years to expand our digital skills training within our Language & Learning service and recruit a Digital Skills Instructor, Hafez.   We’ve already kicked off some amazing digital skills workshops, complete with new laptops, helping our students to boost their IT competency and confidence. Thank you Virgin Money Foundation, we couldn't do it without you! #digitalskills #onlineinclusion #digitalinclusion

This week marks #GetOnlineWeek hosted by Good Things Foundation. Good Things Foundation recently carried out research which tells us that four in ten households with children in the UK (45%) do not meet the Minimum Digital Living Standard, which equates to 3.7 million households. This means they don’t have accessible internet, adequate equipment or the skills and knowledge needed to communicate, connect and engage in the modern world. The research found that 38% of households struggle with online skills, with parents, children, or both lacking functional or critical digital abilities. For 17% of households with children, this means parents being unable to create an email account or make online payments to pay household bills etc. Earlier this year we launched the #VolunteerandConnect fund to help tackle digital poverty amongst school aged children. Through the Volunteer and Connect Fund our colleagues at Virgin Money who volunteer at a school can apply for a grant of up to £2,000 to help the school tackle digital exclusion. From kit to lend out to families facing digital poverty, to new software and digital skills training, these grants work to build the digital confidence of young people around the UK. Since launching, we've supported 90 schools which will enable over 14,500 children to become more digitally confident.

Volunteering at Hospitality & Hope as a Digital Champion alongside my role at Virgin Money Foundation is often my favourite part of the working week. The incredible volunteers, staff and local community members I meet each week are the true definition of Community Anchors, people working hard to make big changes in their local communities. Today I'm joining their #GetOnlineWeek event where members of the local community will be able to receive practical help, advice and signposting.

This week we're celebrating #GetOnlineWeek and our wonderful colleagues from Virgin Money who support our digital inclusion strategy, helping to make big changes happen in their local communities. Digital poverty arises from three key issues; lack of digital skills, lack of access to a suitable device and lack of connectivity. Through our Digital Champions programme colleagues are trained as #DigitalChampions. Using this training they are then supported to volunteer at a local foodbank or community hub, assisting people with immediate digital needs. Since launching we have trained 128 colleagues and signed up 30 foodbanks across the UK. Hear from one of our Digital Champions, Kevin and how he supports THROCKLEY COMMUNITY HALL LIMITED. https://lnkd.in/eGZXd39P

This week we're joining the Good Things Foundation and celebrating Get Online Week. In today's digital age, being able to navigate the online world is more important than ever. Whether it's for work, education, staying connected with loved ones or simply for entertainment, having digital literacy skills is essential. That's why we launched our digital strategy earlier this year, to help make big changes happen locally. Happy Get Online Week! #GetOnlineWeek #DigitalSkills #StayConnected https://lnkd.in/eVNBCuG9

This week marks #ChallengePovertyWeek in Scotland. Set up by The Poverty Alliance, Challenge Poverty Week is a powerful reminder of the collective responsibility we share in tackling poverty in our communities. Every day, countless volunteers dedicate their time and skills to uplift those in need showing that big changes really do start locally. Thank you to our colleagues from Virgin Money who support their local communities to help make these changes.

We are thrilled to host Fundraising Everywhere in our Virgin Money Gosforth Office where North East organisations will learn more about how Trusts and Foundations work, what they look for in partner organisations and how they can be as successful as possible with their funding applications.

The SPARK programme is a new inspiring leadership development initiative designed by Northern Soul Consultancy C.I.C to support Northerners aged 18-25. As a legacy of the #YoungChangeMaker programme, we're proud to support #SPARK along with The National Lottery Community Fund.

On the 1st October 2024, Nationwide Building Society completed its acquisition of Virgin Money.   For now, it's very much business as usual - there's no impact to the Virgin Money Foundation and our activities. We will continue building on our digital inclusion strategy working with community anchors, local schools and community projects helping to make big changes happen on a local level.