Charities flock to largest Business Expo in the South West

Katherine hopes that the Charity Village will become a regular feature of the South West Business Expo. “Sponsoring a charity can be mutually beneficial at a challenging time”, explains Ms Sawyer.

Apart from the fact that many businesses simply choose to sponsor a charity because they want to have a positive impact on their communities by doing good, getting involved in a cause can ‘add a deeper dimension to work’, says Katherine.

“Working with charities can be a win-win”, she adds: Supporting a cause through cake sales, sponsored runs or volunteer days can give a boost to staff morale and wellbeing, while a sense of achievement can improve teamwork.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is also an increasingly important factor not just for large businesses, as many customers are trying to choose ethical businesses, while corporate buyers and public procurement frameworks assess the social responsibility of their suppliers.

Tips for getting started with a charity partnership

1. Choose a charity with a connection/which feels right
   Katherine always asks potential sponsors “Why did you choose us?”. Often, the reason is a personal connection to a cause: “We recently signed a business up where a family member of a manager received support by Young Live vs Cancer, and now the whole company is supporting us”, says Katherine. This anecdotal evidence is empirically backed by findings from the latest UK Giving report by the Charities Aid Foundation: Donors tend to find out about the charities that they support through either their own experience (32%), or via friends and family (28%). This trend hasn’t changed year on year.
2. Get the team on board
   Make support for a charity inclusive and give your team a say in what charity to support and how to secure buy-in
3. Make it fun!
   Fundraisers can be fun events for your team. Why not sign up for a bungee jump with your colleagues and raise money for a good cause at the same time?

According to the UK Giving report by the Charities Aid Foundation, a record sum of £13.9 billion was given to charity last year by 58% of the population, that’s an average of £65 per donor. People in South West Devon and South Devon constituencies rank among the UK’s most generous regions, where more than 60% of the population have donated in the last year. But overall, the number of people who give to charity has gone down slightly from 59%, so corporate partnerships are becoming increasingly important for charities to make up for fewer individual donations.

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