Providing Real Help with Real Lives goes beyond offering products that fit our customer needs. Playing an active role in our local communities provides a great opportunity to demonstrate our purpose, but it also makes good business sense.

That’s where the Charitable Foundation comes in - compared to our Agency network the Charitable Foundation is a comparative “youngster”, founded back in 1999 and going strong ever since. It help’s the Society deliver its purpose of bringing Real Help to Real Lives straight to the heart of our local communities.

Independent Charity

The Charitable Foundation is a registered charity that stands alone from the Yorkshire Building Society and has its own accounts, articles of association and trustees. Aside from a small annual donation from YBS, the Foundation is largely funded by support from our colleagues and members donating the “pence” from their annual savings and mortgage interest.

Small Change Big Difference

When carrying out your annual observations on your team you may hear them ask customers if they would like to “opt in” to the Small Change Big Difference Scheme, but what exactly does it mean and what does it do? SCBD is the main source of funding for the Foundation, when a customer “opts in” they are agreeing to donate the “pence” from their interest once a year - the average donation works out at just 50p. If all 3 million members “opted in” just one of their accounts that would be an amazing amount each year that we could give back to our local communities.

Giving Back

Since that first donation back in 1999 we have been able to donate over £8 million to our local communities and that’s where our colleagues and members really shine! Any colleague or member can make an application to the Foundation for a donation of up to £2,000 for their local charity. The Foundation has two priority areas, Alleviating Poverty & Improving Health/Saving Lives, we do have specific criteria which you can read more about here. Which of your local charities could YOU make a difference to?

Business Benefits

There are very real business benefits to prioritising SCBD and the Charitable Foundation. Charities love to thank organisations for donations which can truly create some great PR for both sides (which YBS will help with), and who doesn’t love some free publicity! Pre Covid YBS would provide “visual props” for pictures to be taken of colleagues and the charity “accepting the donation”, but over the last 12months this has been adapted so “virtual presentations” are the new norm - again generating some great publicity in local areas that can be shared with the local press and on social media.

It also helps us to build a reputation as a business that invests in the community. We’ve had new customers come in because they have seen donations that the Charitable Foundation have made in our local communities.

How You Can Help

The Small Change Big Difference take up rate has dropped significantly over the last few years which is why we need the help of you and your teams. The SCBD take up rate target is 50% but this has been in decline for the last few years.

You don’t need us to tell you that over the last 12 months charities have struggled like never before to raise the money they need, which is resulting in a huge increase each quarter of applications to the Foundation and sadly with take up rates declining we just don’t have the money to support all the charities out there that need our help.

2019 - 366 local charities were supported with £378,773 donated

2020 - 299 local charities were supported with £319,020 donated

Speak to your teams and ask:

• How do they talk to your customers about the Charitable Foundation?
• Are they clear on how it works?
• A Closed for Training session was published on 17 February to support your teams with the Foundation – what did they learn from it or were they already experts?
• What is the take up rate for your agency/’s, do your teams know?
• When was the last time they submitted an application for a local charity?
• How did they celebrate/promote this?
• Did you see new customers off the back of this?

And Finally

If you or your team would like any more information or support with the Charitable Foundation, please do get in touch either call Jo Bottomley on 07734 460537 or drop her an email at jzbottomley@ybs.co.uk