Our Foundation aids financial inclusion and supports social mobility, supporting children and young people in the communities we’ve served since 1880, and is aligned with our purpose to help put people on a path to a better everyday life.
As a long-standing business which has aimed to help people since day one, we understand the importance of supporting voluntary and not-for-profit organisations that have positive impacts on our people and our communities.
Over the years, we’ve built a model which delivers positive outcomes and benefits in the community through our partners and through our colleagues; and this year, we’ve established the Vanquis Banking Group Foundation, managed by the group, designed to help even more people.
Our vision for the foundation is to help build a future where every child and young person in the UK is supported to achieve their full potential, contributing to a brighter future.
Our mission is to improve the lives of children and young people by providing educational and social development opportunities which support financial and social inclusion.
Influencing Positive Change
To achieve our goals, our funding and our activities are concentrated on delivering positive impacts in the more deprived areas of the UK.
To influence positive change, we’re working with schools, colleges and community partners to address some of the root causes to which makes someone socially or financially excluded. This can include supporting issues that prevent access to education and work, breaking down barriers to skills development, helping people to achieve personal growth, or helping to improve wellbeing or living environments. We’re currently exploring how we can bring Social Investment into our Foundation.
Focussed Support
Education is a key driver of social mobility and so we support programmes through our charity partners in local schools to help develop literacy and numeracy skills. This will help young people become more confident and improve their likelihood of becoming more financially included in society as they grow. We also provide insights into the world of work because we want young people to have the skills and knowledge to reach their potential and to go on to secure fulfilling careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere.
By working with community foundations, we’re able to leverage their local knowledge and expertise to help address core needs in our communities. Through these partnerships, we can contribute to the support and development of spaces where children and young people can access opportunities that enable them to participate meaningfully in society. This approach gives us the confidence that we’re directing our funding to the places where it’s needed most - to the grassroots voluntary organisations who are trusted by their communities. In doing this we’re also able to contribute to the long-term sustainability of the small charity sector.
This foundation is another way in which we can support people to becoming more financially and socially included in society, further delivering on our purpose to help put people on a path to a better everyday life.
Vanquis Banking Group’s focus is to deliver responsible products and services which help put our customers on a path to a better everyday life.
Our products meet the needs of our customers, who may not be well-served by mainstream lenders for a multitude of reasons.
We also work collaboratively with money advice and other voluntary sector partners to help address the barriers to financial inclusion that exist in our communities, as well as to improve the experience for our own customers.
Social mobility refers to the link between our starting point in life, and where we end up.
When our starting point strongly determines where we end up, mobility is low so for example, if your parents held professional jobs then it’s highly likely that you will go into a professional job, whereas if your parents had lower paying jobs then you are likely to also go into a lower paid job.
But if people from all starting points and backgrounds have a good chance of achieving any outcome, then mobility is high.
We know that colleagues want to work for a business that supports them to make a positive and meaningful impact in their communities. That's why we provide support and tools for colleagues to engage in a variety of ways.
Our Volunteering and Matched Funding Policy helps all colleagues across the Banking Group to take part in volunteering opportunities. Colleagues can take a full day’s paid leave to volunteer for a community organisation or charity of their choosing, and additionally, we offer a number of Company-led opportunities to colleagues through our Social Impact Programme. There's no limit on how much Company-led volunteering colleagues can take part in.
Vanquis Banking Group’s focus is to deliver responsible products and services which help put our customers on a path to a better everyday life.
Our products meet the needs of our customers, who may not be well-served by mainstream lenders for a multitude of reasons.
We also work collaboratively with money advice and other voluntary sector partners to help address the barriers to financial inclusion that exist in our communities, as well as to improve the experience for our own customers.
Social mobility refers to the link between our starting point in life, and where we end up.
When our starting point strongly determines where we end up, mobility is low so for example, if your parents held professional jobs then it’s highly likely that you will go into a professional job, whereas if your parents had lower paying jobs then you are likely to also go into a lower paid job.
But if people from all starting points and backgrounds have a good chance of achieving any outcome, then mobility is high.
We know that colleagues want to work for a business that supports them to make a positive and meaningful impact in their communities. That's why we provide support and tools for colleagues to engage in a variety of ways.
Our Volunteering and Matched Funding Policy helps all colleagues across the Banking Group to take part in volunteering opportunities. Colleagues can take a full day’s paid leave to volunteer for a community organisation or charity of their choosing, and additionally, we offer a number of Company-led opportunities to colleagues through our Social Impact Programme. There's no limit on how much Company-led volunteering colleagues can take part in.
Our Foundation currently works with the following organisations, among many others. You can read about some of these partnerships here, or in our annual report.
- National Numeracy
- School Home Support
- Outward Bound Trust
- Ahead Partnership
- National Literacy Trust
- Leading Children
- Chapter One
- Give Bradford
- Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Foundation
- Kent Community Foundation
- London Community Foundation