10 corporate fundraising partnerships benefitting UK good causes
Melanie May | 19 August 2022 | News
From the Ocean Conservation Trust, to Dementia UK, Steps for Hope, Emmaus and Ukrainian refugees, here’s news of 10 more corporate fundraising partnerships supporting good causes in the UK.
Ocean Conservation Trust & DFDS
DFDS has agreed a new partnership to protect UK coastlines by working with global conservation charity the Ocean Conservation Trust. The ferry company will support the charity’s Blue Meadows project, which aims to protect, regenerate, and restore seagrass habitats along UK coastlines. Customers will have the chance to learn more about the Trust’s work, get involved in its #thinkocean challenge, explore volunteering opportunities, and support its projects by donating to its fundraising campaigns. DFDS runs several other environmental initiatives in the UK. These include a long-standing partnership with marine conservation charity ORCA, now in its 15th year, and a carbon-offsetting scheme which allows customers to offset the impact of their ferry travel by supporting forest regeneration projects in the UK, South America, and Africa.
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Local cancer charities & Leyland Trucks
#LinkingLeyland, a 2022 charity initiative organised by Leyland Trucks’ Helping Hand committee, has brought together numerous businesses and community groups from across Leyland and Lancashire to generate funds for St Catherine’s Hospice, Rosemere Cancer Foundation and Macmillan. The summer-long community fundraiser will see hundreds of participants run or walk 10km, whilst other teams compete in a truck pull challenge and attempt to heave an eight tonne DAF XG+ over a 125 ft course in the fastest time. Already signed up to participate in the upcoming 10k and truck pull includes Revolution Running, Men’s Hub Preston, Thrive Gym, Nordic walkers WALX Preston, Amazon, Lancashire DAF, St Catherine’s Hospice, Macmillan and CrossFit Leyland. As well as main sponsor Leyland Rotary, other sponsors include Lancashire DAF, Schneider Electric, Made Profiles, Actinium, Heskin Fabrications, Carney, Thrive, and Preston College, who collectively have donated £8,000.
Learn with Parents & IG Group
IG Group and Learn with Parents are collaborating with the aim of reducing educational inequality in the UK by empowering parents to engage with their children’s learning. IG Group funded an initial pilot programme with a £50,000 donation, which has supported programmes for 3,000 families across England. IG Group’s initial donation was supplied by its Brighter Future Fund, through which the company offers grants to charitable initiatives around the globe. Previous partnerships with education charities include a £2 million commitment to Teach For All’s UK network partner Teach First; £2 million commitment to Teach For All and its network partners around the globe, including Teach The Nation and Teach For Poland; and a long-term partnership with Code First Girls.
Dementia UK & Everyone Active
Everyone Active has started a year-long partnership with Dementia UK. Everyone Active is hoping to raise £50,000 for the charity which could cover essential operations, including the basic costs of 17,500 people contacting their Dementia Helpline. The partnership, which officially launched on 1 August, builds on Everyone Active’s support for those affected by dementia. Earlier this year, the leisure operator provided free memberships to people affected by the condition with the support of Watford Borough Council.
Steps for Hope & Balfour Beatty
Colleagues across Balfour Beatty in Scotland have teamed up with Steps for Hope, to raise more than £140,000 to support people in need in Edinburgh. The most recent fundraising initiative, supported by the University of Edinburgh, saw Balfour Beatty and supply chain partner Anixter recycle and sell approximately 8.5 tonnes of redundant materials from the Institute of Regeneration and Repair Expansion project – which will see Balfour Beatty construct a new, purpose-built research facility for the University. All proceeds were donated to Steps to Hope. Balfour Beatty’s Regional Operations Manager, Ray Duffy, also recently completed the “Climb to Hope” challenge, with the funds raised donated to the “5 Weeks Sleeping Rough” challenge which involved Steps to Hope Founder and Operations Manager, Richard Roncero, sleeping rough for five weeks in five UK cities. Balfour Beatty continued its support last month with Senior Project Manager, Mark Reid, walking 50 miles along the East Coast of Scotland, raising over £5,500 for the charity.
10 charities & Opencast
Tyneside-headquartered tech consultancy Opencast has named 10 charities it will support in its 10th anniversary year following a vote by people working across the business. The donations from Opencast’s latest profits total £55,000 – taking the amount donated so far to charities by the business past the £100,000 mark – and are part of the company’s ‘10 good things’ initiative for its anniversary. Opencast’s people voted to support charities working to address four key causes that mattered most to them: poverty and inequality; housing and homelessness; environment and sustainability; and health and medical. Charities include FareShare UK, Depaul UK, Berwick Youth Project & Trees for Cities.
Emmaus & Tilia Homes
Tilia Homes has announced a partnership with Emmaus, with the housebuilder aiming to donate £80,000 through staff fundraising and corporate fund-matching within the first year. The money raised will support the charity’s work in providing people with a way out of homelessness. Each of Tilia’s four regional businesses will be supporting Emmaus through events, fundraising initiatives across its developments and both team and individual challenges. Tilia Homes will then match all funds raised. Emmaus was selected as Tilia’s chosen charity following suggestions put forward by an internal steering group which considered good causes that resonated with the business and where Tilia could make a positive and tangible impact.
Welcome Centre for Scotland & Royal Bank of Scotland
Royal Bank of Scotland has set up a dedicated donation distribution hub for Ukrainian refugees arriving in the capital. The hub runs alongside the Welcome Centre for Scotland, which was created through a partnership between the City of Edinburgh Council and local partners, hosted within Royal Bank’s Gogarburn headquarters. Using funding issued by the Scottish Government the Welcome Centre opened earlier this year. Staff from the City of Edinburgh Council are on hand to process entrance paperwork, facilitate introductions with host families or find temporary accommodation for the many people who arrive without a place to stay. Paperwork is completed within the centre on the same day, relevant literature is provided as part of a Scottish Government-produced welcome pack, and everyone is also offered an essentials pack of donations to help them settle in for the first few days. The packs contain day to day necessities such as toiletries, clothing, UK electrical adapters and toys for young children.
Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust & Custom Heat
Custom Heat, a plumbing and heating specialist that provides services across the Midlands, is partnering with the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust, making the nonprofit its charity of the year. To make a real difference to families who are living with the daily challenges of a child with cancer, Custom Heat has pledged to undertake free boiler services and repairs over the next 12-months for any Trust supported family living in its operational area. In addition to the labour being provided at no cost when a family’s boiler unexpectedly breaks down or requires an annual service, Custom Heat is making an initial £1,000 pot of funding available to cover any parts that may be required as well as donating £2,500.
Family Action & Sainsbury’s Tu
Sainsbury’s Tu is donating £10,000 worth of school uniform to help vulnerable families across the UK through a partnership with Family Action. According to research by The Children’s Society, some families are spending as much as £337 per year on uniform for each secondary school child and £315 per year for each primary school child, while new research has found over 8 in 10 (86%) parents say their kids’ uniform isn’t durable enough to last the school year, while over a quarter of parents (27%) are forced to replace a new item of uniform every 2-3 months.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.