Brighter communities

As a local business, we genuinely want to make a bright and positive difference in our local communities.

This means putting as much time and effort as possible into supporting local organisations and enabling and encouraging our people to be at the heart of local communities.

We don’t just donate then walk away. We get stuck in and make a real difference.

Supporting local charities

Each year we donate 1.5% of our total net profits to great causes around the region, with the support of Cumbria Community Foundation.

We divide these donations into strategic grants and smaller community grants, enabling us to support local people and communities in a meaningful and sustainable way. Strategic grants are larger and are awarded for up to three years, community grants are one-off awards and provided for one year.

So far we’ve supported a number of charities including Susan’s Farm and Dignity in Dementia, two fantastic charities that are doing so much to make lives brighter.

Community fund

Our branch managers also have their own community fund of £25k, taken from our 1.5% net profits, to distribute amongst local charities or organisations of their choice – ensuring we’re able to make a positive difference to people across our region.

Are you involved in a community project? Pop into any one of our branches and one of our team will discuss how we could support you.

Financial wellbeing

A huge part of our community work involves helping people of all ages to understand more about managing their finances.

For young people in our community, we introduce financial wellbeing by partnering with schools and organisations to bring money and finances to life. Recently we partnered with James Rennie School to help them launch their own school bank – enabling pupils to develop fantastic life skills in the process.

We’re also dedicated to helping customers of all ages understand more about planning for the future and enabling them to be prepared for any big life changes – from exciting events such as weddings and big holidays, to more challenging circumstances such as losing a job or experiencing a bereavement.

Community days

Each year, we offer everyone who works for us the chance to go out and spend time supporting a charity or organisation of their choice.

They can do this individually or with people from their teams, and so far we have done everything from school clean-ups to gardening at Hospice at Home across our region.

If your group or organisation is looking for volunteers, please get in touch to see how we could get involved and support you.