This country has a long tradition of charitable support from the business world.

Industrial philanthropists supported individuals and organisations within their local communities back in the days of the industrial revolution and, ever since, many firms and individuals have been happily donating a proportion of their wealth to good causes.
 
Charitable support is now a serious business issue and, since it was first coined back in the 1970s, the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a boardroom buzzword as companies recognise the benefits of taking a more ethical approach to business and engaging responsibly with stakeholders.

Most large organisations and a growing proportion of SMEs now have formalised CSR strategies in place. While CSR is about more than charitable support, companies certainly look to engage with charities or community groups as part of their overall strategy.

So how can businesses find the right charity partner and what are the benefits for all involved?

Help the Hospices is the hospice movement’s national charity, supporting over 240 local hospices in their vital work on the front line of caring for people who face the end of life. The majority of hospice care is provided by local independent charities rooted in the communities they serve. Hospices provide a wide range of care for people living with terminal illness and their families, from inpatient beds to day care and care for people in their own homes.

In England the Government contributes an average 31% of running costs for adult hospices and around15% for children’s hospices – the rest has to be found by charitable fundraising.

Corporate partnerships are therefore invaluable for raising much needed funds for the hospice movement as well as lending further support through staff volunteering and sharing business skills.

Help the Hospices is in a unique position to offer companies the opportunity to engage with the hospice movement both on a national and local level – a proposition which many find highly beneficial.

KPMG case study

Take KPMG - one of the country’s leading accountancy firms with 22 UK offices and over 10,000 partners and staff.

KPMG’s relationship with Help the Hospices began in 2006 and to date has raised over £1million. Each of KPMG’s offices is linked with its local hospice. These local relationships have been fundamental to the campaign’s success with high levels of staff engagement. For the first time ever, employees selected to extend the one-year partnership for a further 12 months.

Last year, KPMG staff contributed 38,000 volunteering hours to community causes. Twenty people volunteered to be trained to carry out ‘green audits’ in hospices which, to date, have identified annual energy savings of a projected £100,000, leaving a lasting legacy to the hospice movement and the environment.

Nationally, funds are raised through payroll giving (matched by KPMG), a First Hour appeal (where staff are invited to donate the first hour of their annual salary) and fundraising events such as golf days. In addition, KPMG match-funded the £70,000 donated by readers of The Times which featured Help the Hospices in its annual Christmas appeal in December 2007.

Michael Kelly is Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at KPMG. He says: “CSR needs to be seen as a whole, with businesses developing formalised strategies which encompass all aspects of responsible business practice. Charitable partnerships are just one element of our overall CSR strategy, but hugely important because they have such a significant and positive impact on staff engagement and motivation.

“I think the fact that our employees could get involved with fundraising and support on both a local and national level with Help the Hospices has made a massive difference and contributed to the fantastic success of this partnership. It has truly engaged our people. The relationships that have been built on a local level will last long after the formal partnership has ended.”

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank

Irene Swankie is Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs Manager for Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank which first got involved with Help the Hospices in February 2008. Swankie explains how and why the relationship with the Help the Hospices is proving to be such a success:

“We’ve had a community programme in place for some time but about four years ago we decided to enhance it to ensure that staff were more engaged,” she explains. “At the time, the idea of finding a ‘Charity of the Year’ was mooted and although I liked the idea I felt that with a relationship of just one year we’d be planning our exit strategy and having one eye on the following year’s charitable partner when only half way through the relationship.

“I felt we needed something that ran a bit deeper than that - a partnership which would build lasting relationships and truly engage and resonate with our staff. As a result we started a three year partnership with the British Heart Foundation which was very successful. In 2007, we started looking for another charitable partner with whom to develop a long term relationship. Help the Hospices stood out – almost everyone can relate to the hospice movement and when we put it to our employees it was obviously a popular choice. Many people had an immediate empathy and they liked the fact that we could work on a national basis, giving a voice to hospices around the country, but also get involved in a much more personal way on a local level.”

Six months on and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank has already raised over £120,000 for hospice care. “As a business we get behind major campaigns such as World Hospice and Palliative Care Day and match fund any money raised by employees. A lot of support both from the business and from individuals is also support in kind. We can share our many business skills and expertise with hospices on a local level.”

For charitable partnerships to work for business, Swankie strongly believes employees have to really feel the benefits. “They’re not getting involved because it looks good or because their company tells them to, they’re doing it because of the personal satisfaction it gives them,” she explains.

Every member of staff is given two days additional annual leave each year to take part in volunteering activities and many go on to give further support in their own time. A recent request for help to fill goody bags for an event at the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow saw 30 people put their names forward within an hour of the request being made!

“Staff are totally engaged in the relationship,” says Swankie. “We know because we regularly evaluate such partnerships. There is a real feel-good factor from working with Help the Hospices and the relationship has a real impact on staff engagement and motivation.”

Simplyhealth

Swankie’s views are echoed by Lee Nicholls, Employer Brand and Values Manager at Simplyhealth which also began working with Help the Hospices back in 2007. “We regularly measure employee engagement,” says Lee. “And while things such as strong leadership and personal growth are very important, it’s our CSR activity with organisations such as Help the Hospices which make the real difference.”

Again Nicholls cites the fact that, with Help the Hospices, the business can become involved on both a national and local level, as one of its biggest plus points. “That and the hospice movement seems to touch each and every one of us,” he says.

And, asks Nicholls, while there remains a certain amount of cynicism around CSR, why should there be a problem if a company benefits from a charitable partnership as long as the relationship ultimately benefits the charity and makes a positive contribution to the wider community? “It’s not just about giving money,” he explains. “Yes hospices are crying out for financial support but, by giving their time and getting involved with their local hospices, people develop emotional relationships which will last long into the future.”

As Help the Hospices’ Corporate Partnerships Manager Stephen Ballantyne says: “Companies choose to support different charities for a wide variety of reasons but one is the positive effects it can have on engaging and motivating employees, recruitment and retention. Hospice care is such an emotive cause and touches so many people, and because we work with businesses on both a local and national level, employees can see the real difference that their fundraising or volunteering efforts make.”

SMEs

Ballantyne is keen to point out the benefits of working with the hospice movement to SMEs as well as larger firms: “SMEs make up a large part of the business community but many of them do not yet have sophisticated CSR policies,” he says. “They can, nevertheless, make a big difference and we would encourage them to get behind their local hospices. This helps to build their reputation within their local communities, motivates staff and allows them to use their professional skills in a positive and constructive way.”

Hospices need to raise over £400 million every year just to keep going and, with an ageing population and an increasing incidence of diseases like cancer, the need for support will only get greater. Companies interested in finding out more about the benefits of establishing a charitable partnership with Help the Hospices can contact Stephen Ballantyne on 0207 520 8290.

For more information about Help the Hospices please visit www.helpthehospices.org.uk. For information about hospice services in your area visit www.hospiceinformation.info or call 0870 903 3903 (national rate charges apply).