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L&Q relaunches charitable foundation with £250m funding pledge
L&Q has relaunched its charitable foundation with a new £250m investment supporting social housing tenants and the wider communities where the association operates.
The funding will go towards community projects and employment and tenancy support.
A new training academy was launched along with the foundation, and will offer apprenticeships, graduate programmes and employment support.
The housing association, which owns or manages more than 90,000 homes in London and the South East, aims to get 1,000 residents a year into work or “better work”, with a focus on “addressing skills shortages”, according to a statement.
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Fellow major housing association Clarion recently launched a £150m charitable foundation with investment spread over the next 10 years.
In an interview with Inside Housing, Matt Corbett, director of the L&Q foundation, spoke of a company wish to be “more than bricks and mortar” and said the investment showed L&Q was “trying to create a social legacy”.
Mr Corbett also said there are three strategic pillars as part of the investment. These include making sure residents have the support to live independent lives, providing tenancy support, and “placeshaping” – which involves investing in projects that “bring the community together”, with a particular focus on supporting young people.
One part of the investment will go into a scholarship plan to send young people to university, Mr Corbett added.
A statement said L&Q will invest in grassroots projects through ‘Place Maker 2020’, a new pan-London fund that will launch in spring.
Mr Corbett told Inside Housing that different organisations will be able to apply to the fund, which will focus primarily on supporting community projects.
He said reaction to the new investment from residents has been “very positive”, in particular towards the L&Q academy.
In July, L&Q announced a record surplus of £332m before tax, following its merger with East Thames in December 2016.
Mr Corbett told Inside Housing that the merger with East Thames allowed L&Q to “deliver a step change in our charitable ambitions”.
A statement said the foundation “had been relaunched to reflect L&Q’s ambitious new growth objectives” following the merger.
A launch event for the foundation took place on Wednesday at the House of Commons. It was attended by more than 100 guests and sponsored by Vicky Foxcroft, MP for Lewisham Deptford.
