History of the L&Q Foundation
Celebrating more than 10 years of the L&Q Foundation
The L&Q Foundation was established in 2011 to bring together L&Q’s social and economic programmes, funding local projects to help improve people's lives and create opportunities in their communities.
Since 2015, projects delivered through the L&Q Foundation have supported 2,661 people into paid employment and helped 2,734 sustain their tenancy, through access to financial support. More than 12,300 people have used Pound Advice, a service that helps people manage their debts.
In 2021, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the L&Q Foundation. 2023 sees another exciting milestone as we work with colleagues in the North West following the acquisition of Trafford Housing Trust.
The Foundation funds a huge spectrum of projects and we want to share some of our highlights.
2011
Working with L&Q’s neighbourhood committees
Since 2011, the Foundation worked alongside L&Q’s neighbourhood committees to allocate funding for local projects and initiatives, giving our residents a real say in who and what we fund and telling us about local community needs.
In 2023, regional resident committees replaced neighbourhood committees. Find out more about our regional resident committees on our opportunities at a strategic level page.
2012
The Energy Save project
In 2012 we launched EnergySave, a project helping residents to save on their utility bills through practical steps, suggested energy-saving habits and advice on switching suppliers.
To date, the Foundation has funded over 28,000 home visits with an average saving per home of £208 per year.
Find out more about the Energy Save project in our news archive.
Pound Advice
Also in 2012,Pound Advice launched and remains a flagship project helping thousands of residents maximise their income, manage debt and learn better how to manage their money.
For more information on managing your money or debt, we have a financial advice page.
Learn more about Pound Advice in our news archive.
2013
Breakfast clubs launch
In response to the problem of food poverty, in 2013 we set up 15 new breakfast clubs in some of the most deprived parts of London in partnership with Greggs the baker.
Read more about the Breakfast clubs in our news archive.
The Let’s Go To School programme
Also in 2013, our 'Let’s Go To School' programme enabled over 300 L&Q residents to get a qualification to help get a career in the education sector.
It was community-based and focused on peer support. 80% taking part went on to work in education.
2014
The Tenancy Sustainment team joins
The Tenancy Sustainment team joined the L&Q Foundation in 2014 which provides support to our most vulnerable residents who are at risk of eviction.
2015
The One Goal programme
One Goal, our free summer holiday programme was launched with Charlton Athletic in 2015.
It enabled over 11,000 young people to take part in exciting activities over their holidays. It was the largest free holiday programme in the county at the time.
Find out more about the One Goal programme in our news archive.
2016
The Young Carers project
Our Young Carers project worked with children as young as five who had caring responsibilities to help them succeed at school and improve their confidence.
It won L&Q’s ‘community project of the year' award the following year.
Read more about the Young Carers project in our news archive.
2017
The Turlogh O’Brien scholarships programme
In 2017, our Turlogh O’Brien scholarships were launched. They provided ten ambitious college students up to £17,000 each towards their education.
Find out more about the Turlogh O’Brien scholarships in our news archive.
Stonewall Housing
Also in 2017, L&Q Foundation invested £180,000 in Stonewall Housing, creating a three-year strategic partnership to support the development of services for the LGBTQ+ community.
Read more about Stonewall Housing in our news archive.
The L&Q Foundation relaunch
We relaunched the Foundation in 2018 with an investment of £250m.
Find out more about the L&Q Foundation relaunch in our news archive.
We also launched our Place Makers Fund, which awards grants to local organisations and charities that are committed to changing lives and enhancing communities.
The National Youth Theatre workshops
We also teamed up with the National Youth Theatre to offer free theatre workshops in Newham, Waltham Forest and Lewisham.
Learn more about the National Youth Theatre workshops in our news archive.
2018
2019
Learning to Succeed
In 2019, we launched our schools programme called Learning to Succeed.
Working with secondary schools across London, it develops young people’s skills by delivering sessions focused on Science, Technology, English and Maths (STEM) and offers advice and guidance to encourage students to consider careers in housing and construction.
Read more about Learning to Succeed in our news archive.
2020
Adapting to support residents during the coronavirus pandemic
At the beginning of 2020, we spoke to our residents to find out what is important and this helped us define our priorities.
We identified six long-term priorities and grouped these into ‘People’ – our residents - and ‘Place’ – communities where our residents live.
Our priorities are flexible so we were able to respond to changing needs quickly, rapidly adapting to address how the pandemic has impacted our residents and the communities they live in, including launching the L&Q Food bank and refocusing our Place Maker Fund priorities.
2021
The Get Set Go project
Our two-year £400,000 initiative with Sport England begins in 2021.
Get Set Go is a project that links to Sport England’s Active Environments priority, aiming to increase inactivity through the co creation of sporting projects with residents and the local community.
Read more about the Get Set Go project in our news centre.
2022
Investing in our community centres
After speaking to people and groups who use the Lewington Community Centre, we started work to make sure the centre met local needs.
We wanted to create more space that could be used flexibly.
In 2022, the newly refurbished centre opened with a fun day for local residents.
Read more about the Lewington Community Centre in our news archive and find out more about all our community centres.
Supporting residents with the cost of living
We want to make sure our residents are supported with the rising cost of living.
We can help with money management, finding a new job, and advice on energy use and staying warm.
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