Corporate support for charities – why it is more than just a nice gesture? By Sarah Tiffany, Growth Manager at h2h

This year h2h have chosen to support Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity as our charity of the year. It is a cause that is very close to our hearts as they supported our MD Susan and her family with thoughtful, empathetic and practical support during a very challenging time in their lives.  There are a great number of valuable reasons why businesses choose to support a charity as part of their wider ESG policy, but there are also several misconceptions as well. Some leaders fail to see the value of these initiatives and see it as just a nice gesture.

Common and perhaps questionable arguments in this space include:

 

At h2h we disagree and believe that supporting a charity adds a great deal of value to any organisation. In our latest blog, our Growth Manager, Sarah Tiffany discusses the key benefits of supporting a charity and references these findings from McKinsey which gives some further ideas on why ESG really does matter.

We have been really working hard on our ESG over the last couple of years and have focused on improving our sustainable business practices. This has included accreditation for both the Good Business Charter  and Cyber Essentials schemes, reviewing our business policies and improving employee engagement and quality assurance processes. We are now looking at embedding our commitment to social responsibility, for example, through the sponsorship of several charities, donation of surplus office equipment to local schools and community groups and the offer of some pro-bono services to various organisations including the NHS.

When it comes to supporting a charity, we believe that the key benefits for us will be:

#3 It’s good Corporate Social Responsibility.

Working with a charity can lead to unexpected opportunities such as new partnerships or community leadership roles. Supporting a cause not directly linked to our core business activity, encourages our organisation to consider our impact on the environment and the well-being of the wider community and how we can start to balance these with our economic, social, and environmental responsibilities. It helps us to demonstrate that our business cares about more than just profit or ROI and reflects who we are as an organisation.

#2 It improves our working relationships and hi-lights new skills

It’s great for our employees to pull together on a non-work-based project as a team. Volunteer days or team fundraising activities showcases a whole new set of skills that we may never have known our employees possessed. Being united in a common cause brings all sorts of different people together – it boosts morale, encourages cross divisional working and makes our employees proud to work for a socially responsible company. This can also have a knock on benefit of boosting employee satisfaction, improving retention and making our organisation more attractive to new recruits.

#1 It boosts community engagement.

Supporting a charity allows us to give back in a meaningful way. It can help us to;

• build goodwill within our community
• bring together our clients, suppliers and associates
• and can open doors to new partnerships and collaborations.

Most importantly it gives us a different focus and purpose, as well as bringing all parts of the business together in one united cause. In summary, supporting a charity isn’t just a nice gesture — it’s a smart, forward-thinking strategy that enriches our working relationships, reflects our values and creates a positive ripple effect far beyond the walls of our business.

Our challenge this year is to raise £10,000 and awareness for Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity. You can read more about how we plan to do this in our latest press release or contact us at enquiries@h2h.uk.com if you would like to get involved in any of the activities that we have planned. If you would like to make a donation then please do so here.

Here’s and overview of how your donations can help:

 

About the author

Sarah is our Growth Manager and oversees our business development plan and activities including event management, promotional materials, social media presence, newsletters and marketing. She is focussed, results-driven and self-motivated and uses these strengths to drive our business forward.  She has strong interpersonal skills and is proud to work for an organisation whose overarching aim is to make a positive difference to working lives.