 Teamwork is the key to a successful charity of the year partnership
Why? Because nominating Leukaemia Research as your Charity of the Year is a great way for your whole company to work together. By focussing on creative ways to raise money for Leukaemia Research every activity will fund vital research, ultimately helping us to save lives.
Having a Charity of the Year will bring a positive impact to your company by promoting team spirit and boosting staff morale, bringing your employees together in an organised, coordinated way. Teamwork in action - Argos and Leukaemia Research
A match made in corporate partnership heaven saw leading multi-channel retailer Argos pulling out all the stops for cancer charity Leukaemia Research, smashing the year-long charity partnership’s original target of £400,000 to raise a fantastic £924,000.
The key to the Saving and Improving Lives Together partnership success?
Argos’ 34,000 staff and its customers across the popular retailer’s 670-plus UK stores got together to raise funds through community events, team-building activities, competitions and in-store promotions.
Meanwhile, Leukaemia Research’s network of volunteers from its 150 Branches and fundraising groups turned out for charity collections, held nationwide at Argos stores at catalogue launches. The events, in July 2007 and January 2008, raised £45,000.
Alex Robinson, corporate relations manager for the partnership, says: "The partnership worked so well because Argos has the infrastructure to motivate its workforce and Leukaemia Research has volunteers nationwide who can support these activities."
Media targets were also smashed as Argos fundraising activities provided a constant source of stories for the Leukaemia Research press office to send to local papers.
Everyone in the company got into the spirit of the partnership. Argos directors joined in the fun with a ‘Directors’ Challenge’, turning the £100 they were each given into over £45,000.
Store-led fundraising events ranged from ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ themed events to leg and chest waxes. The multi-channel retailer also launched a viral Giant Jar competition, as a ‘guess the number of items’ competition. The items were then donated to Leukaemia Research, who gave the toys to Great Ormond Street’s children’s wards.
In-store, the ‘Tick to Give’ option on Argos order forms, offering customers the opportunity to donate 20p to Leukaemia Research whilst ordering products, raised £54,000. Bananaman superhero charms, in stores from February 2008, raised over £10,000. Employees also took part in running events, for example the charity’s Bananaman Chase10k run in Milton Keynes, the location of Argos headquarters.
Kate White, director of Fundraising for Leukaemia Research, said: "Saving and Improving Lives Together, our campaign with Argos will make a real difference to the lives of the 110,000 people in the UK living with blood cancer. We’d like to say a huge thank you to Argos employees and customers for helping Leukaemia Research raise £800,000, this will help us fund vital research which will save lives."
Lorna Liggett, community affairs manager at Argos, said: "The ‘Saving and Improving Lives Together’ campaign has surpassed all our expectations - staff and customers have really got behind the partnership activity and we’re happy to have achieved so much for such a wonderful charity."
What this means to us
While the partnership is now at an end, the money raised by Argos staff will continue to make a huge difference to us and patients with cancers of the blood. It will fund a cytogenetics database, which will hold data about leukaemia patients. By pooling this data, our researchers hope to be able to identify common genetic abnormalities, which may cause acute leukaemia. By understanding the causes, we can aim to improve survival rates and ultimately prevent leukaemia as well as contributing to the understanding of how other cancers develop.
Corporate partnerships with Leukaemia Research - in a nutshell
- A partnership with Leukaemia Research will enhance and promote your business while funding vital research into Leukaemia and related blood cancers.
- Our dedicated corporate fundraising team with a wealth of both charity and commercial experience will work with you at every stage to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship.
- Our professional and flexible fundraising resources will enable your company, whatever its size and nature to really maximise potential benefits from such a partnership.
There are a number of ways to develop this:
- Charity of the year
- Employee involvement
- Corporate events
- Sponsorship and marketing
- Payroll giving
- Sports Events
If you would like further information about a charity partnership with Leukaemia Research we would be delighted to help. Contact us on 020 7405 0101, email companies@lrf.org.uk
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