Tag Archive for: CSR

Pitching through the CSR Barrier

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In these uncertain times for charities (particularly given how difficult it is to obtain and maintain Grant levels) we are increasingly looking towards different avenues to build future relationships and one of these has seen a growing interest in developing business partnerships.

The world of CSR has been changing: The days of photographic opportunities with large cardboard cheques are becoming sepia images from long-forgotten days. It is now more common for companies to be looking for a charity partner, an organisation that typically can develop a relationship over a period of time with and with whom they share certain values. Nationally this can be seen in partnerships such as Topman and the Campaign Against Living Miserably with their attention grabbing L’eau de Chris campaign and examples such as Chelsea FC and Plan International.

Locally, a growing number of charities and community groups are working closely with local and national companies. Businesses themselves no longer see the good they can do in their communities simply in terms of the cash they can bring but additionally the skill, expertise, resource and time that can be provided.

However, developing these partnerships is not something that happens quickly and is something that as a sector, we can often struggle with in terms of time, money, resource and knowledge.

Following on from two successful workshops earlier this year which brought together charities and businesses to better understand each other’s needs, ways of working and the importance of relationship building in the CSR world, we learnt how difficult many charities struggle with understanding exactly what it is that we can offer a corporate or business partner as part of this relationship and how then to explain and sell this concept.

Jill McCulloch from Coach You who had been part of the second of these workshops offered to run a free course for charities to help find their way to Pitching through the CSR barrier.

The importance of understanding our own values and being able to explain and promote these stands at the forefront of how we can begin to overcome the CSR barrier. It is these, Jill explained, that can help attract and retain business partners, in addition to staff, trustees and supporters. What do we stand for and what is our passion? If we can help others to express our passion, they will become advocates. Taking a cue from Simon Sinek and the Power of Why, we discovered that it is the why we do what we do, that attracts people, not what we do.

Through various exercises we learnt and understood how to see businesses as one of many target audiences, identify what we are looking for in a business partnership and how to use this knowledge to recognise what we can clearly articulate to a partner.

Representatives from 15 organisations across Cambridgeshire attended the workshop at Westminster College, Cambridge on the 21st November 2019.

Our work around the CSR agenda continues as we believe working effectively with business partners is one sure way in which charities of all sizes can diversify their income portfolio in these challenging times. This workshop series forms part of our Think Different Approach, so watch out for future events via the Support Cambridgeshire Training Page.

Support Cambridgeshire would like to thank:

Rachel Briant of Get Synergised for organising the event.  https://www.getsynergised.com/

Jill McCulloch for freely giving her time and knowledge to us  https://coachyou.co.uk/

 Westminster College for hosting this event.  https://www.westminster.cam.ac.uk/events

 

 

More than a Giving Machine

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For longer than the term Corporate Social Responsibility (or CSR) has been coined, charities have reached out to businesses for support. But charities can find CSR difficult to access, often being uncertain who in an organisation to contact, knowing if a business is receptive to being approached and the best way to do so, thinking that a business is only interested in publicity for its donation. Businesses too can find it difficult knowing how to deal with so many approaches made to them, not understanding the language that charities use and the hurdles and uncertainties they can go through.  However, when it works, it works well and makes a great difference to both sides and especially to the people the charities are working with.

Coming from a desire to see this work better, have greater intention and impact, and create greater benefit for our communities, Rachel Briant (the Founder of Get Synergised) and Keith Johnson from Hunts Forum (on behalf of Support Cambridgeshire) organised a workshop: Corporate Social Responsibility: More than a Giving Machine.

The title was deliberately chosen to emphasise that often the relationship can be about more than money and can include skills exchange, learning, mutual understanding and respect. The event took place in the boardroom of Barons Cambridge BMW in Cambourne, hosted by Kevin Appleton, their Head of Business.

Sixteen Charitable Organisations and social enterprises from across Cambridgeshire joined three businesses at Barons Cambridge BMW to explore how businesses and charities can engage better together to  impact communities. Sharon Livermore from Kameo Recruitment and Sue Rowley from PwC Cambridge joined Kevin Appleton to facilitate discussion groups exploring key themes. Interest from the charitable sector far exceeded the number of places available.

The workshop aimed to bridge the divide of language and ways of working between business and the charitable sector, helping charities to move beyond the idea of approaching businesses for funds and to explore and enter into dialogue with receptive businesses to develop stronger, meaningful and more sustainable partnerships.

The day saw both sides eager to develop better and stronger relationships whilst learning from each other about the issues each faced. By understanding each other’s positions, needs and intentions better, the workshop was able to break down many of the barriers for both and boost the confidence of charities to approach businesses and for businesses to have greater understanding around the challenges and needs of charitable organisations.

Charities and businesses ended the event wanting to see more opportunities for dialogue and engagement between each other, something that the organisers intend to follow through. Ideas that came from the workshop day include a space for Dragons’ Den style pitching to businesses by charities, informal network gatherings, more dialogue sessions to help each side continue to understand the languages used, the pressures each side is under and the mutual benefits.

Any businesses or charitable organisations interested in taking part in future events should contact either Rachel at Get Synergised, rachel@getsynergised.com or Keith at Hunts Forum, keith@huntsforum.org.uk .

 

 

More than a Giving Machine

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We all know that Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) is partially about giving, but its also about creating meaningful partnerships between the business and community sector.

Support Cambridgeshire are working with Rachel Briant of Get Synergised to deliver a workshop event where local business (including Barons Cambridge BMW, Kameo Recruitment, Pure Professional Recruitment Specialists and PwC) will talk about how they approach their Corporate Social Responsibility and what they are looking for in a community partner.

This event is Free to any community based organisation in Cambridgeshire, which includes Village Halls and Parish Councils, and takes place on the 25th April 2019 between 9am amd 2.30pm at Barons BMW, Sheepfold Lane, Cambourne, CB23 6EF.

If you want to discover what makes a business tick, how they discharge their CSR and what they want or expect from a community partner then book your space now. It’s sure to be an interesting and lively debate: Get inside the head of business and work out new ways to support your projects or services.

Refreshments and lunch are being provided by Barons BMW.

To book a limited space contact Keith Johnson at Keith@huntsforum.org.uk