On Thursday 13 November, we celebrated 40 years of supporting communities and bringing together changemakers to shape a future where everyone in England and Wales is in a good place. Read Matt Hyde's opening speech in full
14 November 2025
A massive welcome to Fortyfied. It’s great to see so many of you here today for what promises to be a fantastic day.
Now some of you may think we have a whole event that’s been put on just because I like a pun! Well, I do like a pun.
Rest assured there is a point to why we have called today Fortyfied. Firstly (if you hadn’t guessed it already) we’re celebrating 40 years of Lloyds Bank Foundation. Secondly, we want to think about how we can use this challenging moment in time to come through stronger as a sector and as organisations – to be more resilient - and we want you to be leaving today feeling fortified personally and collectively.
And the collective part is important – because we feel stronger when we share challenges together, when we lift each other up and when we inspire each other.
And this room represents a movement of change-makers.
We’re joined today by people from all corners of England and Wales – as well as our sister foundations from Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Channel Islands.
This room of changemakers extends beyond the boundaries of the charity sector. Indeed, it is our belief that we will only build strong communities if we work across sectors and systems. And so, I’m delighted to welcome people from across all sectors of the economy:
Lloyds Bank Foundation is about three things, and this is the first. Connecting people.
Because whatever you’ve got written on your name badge today, your sector, your home town, you care about communities. And the position that the Foundation has, sitting across this amazing diverse group of passionate people, is a huge privilege.
And we’re going to go even further bringing people together in the future because we’re at our best when we’re playing that connecting role.
The second thing that we care about and our focus for today is catalysing.
Bringing people together is great. But isn’t it even more meaningful when you bring in resources too, so you can back new ideas and help good ones scale?
That’s something the Foundation has been doing since our inception.
Take Childline. All the way back in 1987, just two years after we were set up, we were convinced by the urgent need for a service like Childline. We helped them start up with a £65,000 donation. And they’ve gone on to become a household name.
But we’ve learned a few things about how to do this well, since Whitney Houston was topping the charts [‘Saving all my love for you’ was topping the charts 40 years ago seeing as you ask. That’s aged some of us].
What have we learned over those 40 years – well, we’ll soon be releasing research that shows how our investment in an organisation’s capacity and capability supports charities to more than double their long-term growth rate, and so it has impact long after our relationship with them ends.
So we have a real record to be proud of. But we have to confront the reality of the way the world is moving, as a Foundation and a sector, and to do that we’ve got to take our next leap forward.
We’ll always help our partners get the help they need to get the fundamentals right: the right governance, the right CRM system, the right business planning.
But AI, digital and data represent both opportunities and threats and we have to be match fit to engage with those technological changes.
Similarly financial goalposts keep moving. And we absolutely must work in different ways to challenge systemic issues affecting our society.
Because if we don’t meet this moment in time with confidence and resilience the forces of division will win, and civil society will be diminished. However, if we get this right, and we act boldly, civil society can be the engine for stronger, more connected communities. To grasp that opportunity we need to think differently and embrace innovation. And I know that’s tough if you’re a small charity and you don’t have the head space, but you’ve made an important step by being here today whether virtually or in person.
And to build that resilience, you’re going to particularly hear a lot today about:
We’ve brought together experts in these areas to guide us, as well as local community organisations who are already leading the way in these areas, to bring to life some of the ground-breaking work already happening on this front.
And at the end of the day, we’re hoping you’ll emerge back into the world, with new connections, new ideas and new tools, saying that you are ‘Fortyfied’.
Because as I said, this is the Foundation’s 40th year. Over that period, we’ve invested nearly £1bn in real terms, making 45,000 grants to community organisations. We’ve brought together thousands of Lloyds Banking Group colleagues with hundreds of charities, and supported them to give greater sums of money and hours of time – whether that’s helping to fundraise for major players in the campaign to end homelessness, like Crisis, or to volunteer with local foodbanks.
Throughout all that work, throughout all those years, there’s been one common thread: communities.
And that’s the third area that we are passionate about, and it’s central to today and to our future direction.
Because not only is this our 40th year, it’s a major strategy year also. And we are putting communities and community-led change at the absolute heart of our mission.
Even as we come together today, we know that across England and Wales, there’s an urgent call for change. Communities are divided. Poverty is deepening. Homelessness is rising. And fewer people are giving time and money to change that.
And yet I am optimistic. Because our communities hold answers. They’re filled with hopeful, determined people who make the lives of their neighbours better. Day after day, they’re bringing communities together, lifting people up, and creating homes.
That’s what you’re doing. That’s what countless others are doing. Everyone who works here at the Foundation has the immense honour of witnessing and investing in that work. And we’re going to back you to do so much more.
So, today is also a chance to start to get a feel of our major, new ambitious strategy, all around connecting and catalysing community-led change, so that everyone in England and Wales is in a good place.
In a good place personally. In a home that’s a good place to live in. And in a community that’s a good place to belong to.
