Yes, that’s right. Back in 1688. We actually established one of our four charitable trusts in 1988 – the Lloyd’s Tercentenary Foundation – to mark the occasion. In fact, one of the things that appealed to me most about working here was the sense of history. Take our Patriotic Fund, for example, which was set up way back in 1803 to help seamen injured in the Napoleonic War. It’s continued to support ex-service people for the last two hundred years. I like to think of it as one of the earliest examples of strategic philanthropy – after all, Lloyd’s and the Navy shared a mutual interest in protecting merchant ships during the wars!
Quite a tradition to live up to then?
You could say that! Lloyd’s continues to show similar commitment and consistency to our partner organisations. One of the things that most impresses me about the Lloyd’s Community Programme is how it has supported some community organisations over the last 15 or 20 years – particularly those on our doorstep in Tower Hamlets. This sense of genuine commitment is why we’re also ready to put money into core funding, rather than looking for the next ‘fresh idea’ and then moving on.
Very admirable, but is there room for you to develop new ideas?
Sure. I’m currently working with the HR and training functions, for example, to get a team challenge programme up-and-running. Supporting our three main charity partners over a three-year period also gives us the chance to really explore some interesting ideas together. We’re talking with our partner charity Addaction, for example, about running a Give it Up week amongst staff. It could just be chocolate or something, but it will help communicate to our people some of the struggle of beating addiction at the same time as raising additional funds for the charity.
And the tradition of strategic philanthropy? Will that continue?
We’ve got some great examples, but it’s something we still need to work on. Through the Lloyd’s Charities Trust, we are supporting a couple of projects that address crime and community safety – issues that have a pretty clear link to the insurance market. We’re also running a Lloyd’s Loan Fund with East London Small Business Centre. The insurance business is all about risks – albeit carefully calculated ones – and the Lloyd’s market is known for being innovative in the risks it will undertake. This fund helps us provide ‘loans of last resort’ for business start-ups in the East End that others wouldn’t take a risk on.
And the challenges?
Perhaps the biggest challenge is getting the whole market involved. The market is made up of tens of thousands of people working in dozens of companies. It’s a real hub – brokers, traders, lawyers, that kind of thing. In some ways, the dynamic’s very similar to that at Business in the Community, with lots of different organisations all at different stages. Finding ways to engage them all is, as I see it, one of the principle challenges for our strategy going forward. Any ideas welcome!
Vicky joined Lloyd’s as community affairs manager in July.
She was an associate director at Research International, a market research company, before leaving to manage Business in the Community’s cause related marketing team in 2000. Immediately before leaving BITC, Vicky spent eight months on secondment with HBOS, helping set up a new volunteering scheme.
She lives in North London, where she is treasurer of her local church. Vulnerable to the charge of taking her work home with her, she is also involved with various church-led community initiatives, including various fair trade events and volunteering projects.
For more information about the Lloyd’s community programme, see www.lloyds.com
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