Using our expertise to do some good

We know there are many enterprising people out there doing great things to transform the places they live in and love. We've been inspired by some of the work already underway in communities, making a long lasting difference to people's lives.

The Virgin Money Foundation was established with funding from the UK Government and Virgin Money. Its ambition is to find and support people and organisations who want to make a real difference where it is needed most, transforming lives and re-energising communities.

Currently Virgin Money Foundation supports charities in the following ways:

Heart of the Community Fund

We love helping local communities thrive. So every three months, we work with the Virgin Money Lounges in Glasgow, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Norwich, Manchester, Cardiff and London to give three local organisations the chance to receive £2,000. Awards of £1,000 and £500 are made to the runners-up.

The prizes will go to the community organisations with the most votes from Virgin Money customers and Virgin Money Lounge members.

There is a voting unit in each of the Lounges. Visitors can pick up a small red heart when they visit to put into the tube with the name of their chosen community organisation on it.

Community Anchors’ Fund

The Community Anchors' Fund supports independent, community-led organisations committed to making positive changes within their neighbourhood. It offers grants of up to £50,000 to organisations from the North East.

Non Financial Support

Harnessing the skills and motivation of the staff throughout Virgin Money, the Foundation brokers non-financial, skill based support for charities in receipt of a Virgin Money Foundation grant to meet a specific stated capacity building need. For more information, visit the Virgin Money Foundation website 

It’s an honour to be linked to such an iconic event, but we didn’t want to just paint the city red. We like to sponsor events we can bring real value to somehow. So we did a lot of research around the Marathon and all that’s linked to it – including the communities of runners, fundraisers and charities that make it so special.

A lot of money is raised through online donation sites, who naturally charge for the service they provide, so we thought we could put our expertise with money and our financial systems to good use, and come up with an alternative that’s 100% not-for-profit. So millions more £s would go where they’re needed most. Our online donation site Virgin Money Giving was born.

For more information, visit the Virgin Money London Marathon website 

*Figures correct post 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world and takes place in Scotland’s capital every August. Virgin Money is proud to sponsor two street events that are among the most exciting parts of the Festival – the Virgin Money Fringe on the Royal Mile and the Virgin Money Fringe on the Mound.

At Virgin Money we aim to make ‘everyone better off’, which makes these events the perfect partner for us as they’re open and accessible to everyone. Across 4 weeks of entertainment in 2019, Edinburgh saw:

• 59,600 performances
• 31,148 artists
• 3,841 shows
• 323 venues
• 157 countries represented (between audience, artists, media, arts industry and street performers)

We’re also proud to be the sponsor of the The Virgin Money Fireworks concert which brought the 2019 Edinburgh International Festival to a stunning close as the sky filled with giant walls of silver and golden crackle effect fireworks. More than 400,000 fireworks were launched during the concert in a display synchronised perfectly to music performed live by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

Find out more about the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 

Mencap is the leading voice of learning disability. Everything we do is about valuing and supporting people with a learning disability, their families and carers. Our vision is a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened to and included.

Mencap has been leading the way in challenging discrimination against people with learning disabilities across society. There are 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK and we support them by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities, to enable them to live their lives the way they want.

Mencap is so proud to be the Charity of the Year for the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon. We will be working with Virgin Money to address the social stigma surrounding learning disability and promote positive attitudes and social inclusion through enjoyment of sport, to deliver a long-lasting legacy for people with a learning disability.

To find out more visit Mencap's website.

Helping the community

Every member of staff is given a number of free days to allow them to get involved with work in the community. Working with local and national projects, many take part in a wide range of fundraising – from running marathons to climbing mountains. Our people are Make £5 Grow ambassadors in hundreds of schools, as well as offering their skills by volunteering in the day to day work of local charities and in charity appeal call centres.

For more information email: community@virginmoney.com

Or write to:

Culture & Community Team
Virgin Money
Jubilee House
Gosforth
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE3 4PL

We are proud to support the Fiver Challenge, and we also have our own Make £5 Grow programme – both of these initiatives in schools are designed to help inspire the entrepreneurs and business minds of the future. Find out more about how we're helping people make the right choices

Find out more about Make £5 grow