Now all top 30 UK company givers support education
Howard Lake | 7 December 2006 | News
Charities Aid Foundation announced new research findings at its 2006 Companies and Communities Awards ceremony this week which showed that education was by far the most popular object of support for the top companies that support their communities.
The CAF Corporate Community Investment (CCI) study found that currently all of the top 30 giving companies detailed in the report invest in education, with youth related and environmental causes in second and third place at 93% and 80% respectively.
Many of these companies are focusing their support on areas of education that directly reflect their core business activities, representing a “real shift in community investment” according to CAF. For example, Sainsbury’s focus on education aims to increase understanding of food, BT concentrates on communication activities with young people, and Severn Trent’s goal is to increase environmental awareness.
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At the the third Annual Companies and Communities Awards, Deutsche Bank and npower jointly received the Effective Giving Award, and ESS Support Services Worldwide the Innovation Award.
The awards, which recognise and reward companies that are shaping the future of CCI, were hosted by radio and TV presenter Jenni Murray at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.
Russell Prior, Executive Director of Company Services at CAF, said: “The research published today and the high quality of award entries CAF received this year, signal how much CCI has advanced in recent years. It’s certainly embedded within many leading UK corporates and the challenge now is to give other organisations with less established programmes the tools to invest in the community effectively.
“The CAF Companies and Communities Awards provide a vehicle for this communication, as sharing knowledge about best practice is vital.”
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.