Research finds corporate charity support delivers 37x return
Howard Lake | 15 July 2025 | News
A study by the Directory of Social Change has found that every £1 invested by Benefact Group into wraparound charity support generates an estimated £37.50 in economic value.
This report demonstrates that practical, non-financial support such as training, mentoring, and access to professional networks “can dramatically boost charity resilience and sustainability” and outperform traditional donations.
The independent study by the DSC focuses exclusively on support delivered by Benefact Group, an international family of financial services businesses that donates all available profits to good causes.
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The report, Blended giving: the future of corporate charity support, included asking charities what they need from corporates and how Benefact Group’s support had helped them:
- 98% of charities want corporates to offer support beyond funding
- 88%of charities said they received training they otherwise could not afford
- 87% of charities saw improvement in their ability to write funding applications
- 41% of charities expanded their professional networks
Third-largest corporate donor to charities in the UK
Owned by the Benefact Trust, Benefact Group includes Ecclesiastical Insurance and operates across the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada. Since 2014 it has given over £250 million to good causes and is the third-largest corporate donor to charity in the UK.
Chris Pitt, Group Impact Director at Benefact Group, said:
“We know most businesses genuinely want to help. What this research proves is that there’s a far more impactful way to do it. You don’t need to be a major corporate donor to make a difference – you just need to ask what charities really need and show up with the kind of support that matters.
“This isn’t about Benefact Group claiming a win – it’s a call to action. We’re urging fellow corporates to rethink how they give. The data shows that when companies go beyond financial donations, offering time, skills, and access, charities thrive in ways that far surpass traditional models of giving. It’s not just about giving more; it’s about giving better.”
Based on the research’s findings Benefact Group is urging UK corporates of all sizes to revisit their approach to charity partnerships, outlining three simple steps any business can take to increase their impact:
- Dedicate funding for non-financial support, such as training, mentoring or shared resources.
- Convene charity partnersto encourage networking, shared learning, and mental health support.
- Actively listen to charity feedback to co-create the most effective support.
Cash remains essential “but when paired with skills, knowledge and community, it becomes transformational” the report concludes.
Research methodology
DSC gathered both quantitative and qualitative data for the research in December 2024 and January 2025.
- A cost-benefit analysis to gather evidence on the financial impact of Benefact Group’s Charity Support Programme.
- An online survey of circa 320 Benefact Group Charity Support Programme users who have attended a webinar and/or a forum.
- Online interviews from a sample of 10 charities identified by Benefact Group that had engaged with wraparound support in the last 12 months.
- Corporate partners urgeed to provide unrestricted funding to charities (18 October 2022)
- People who volunteer and donate more likely to feel optimistic, research indicates (12 May 2023)
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.