Charity begins in the office: navigating corporate partnerships with charities
What are the changes?
Recent media reports have highlighted the challenges for charities in the UK, adapting their operating model to navigate through the pandemic and now facing the cost-of-living crisis. Whilst some reports suggest there has been an overall decrease in charitable giving and volunteering, many charities would argue that their services have never been in such demand.
In turn, businesses are increasingly recognising the importance of supporting the communities they operate in during times of hardship. The past few years have seen heightened awareness of societal inequalities, and companies have felt the pressure to prioritise social responsibility. Charity partnerships offer a strategic, long-term approach to addressing these issues. They can help businesses expand their network, tap into new talent or opportunities, and boost their reputations. And thanks to digital innovation, it’s never been easier to find creative ways to raise money and offer charitable services.
With social justice remaining firmly at the helm of public discourse, there’s never been a better time to businesses to harness the benefits of partnerships with like-minded charities.
What are the challenges for businesses?
The role of corporates in empowering and investing in their local communities is a well-recognised tenet of most ESG or responsible business strategies. But to be truly effective, businesses need to be prepared to form genuine partnerships which focus on impact and positive change. That is not always necessarily just about providing financial support, although that support is of course vital for voluntary sector organisations.
Your business will need to ensure an alignment of values. The wrong partnership could lead to friction, disagreements, and ultimately the breakdown of the partnership. This also applies to communication; poor coordination of activities could lead to misunderstandings or inefficiencies. You must also be realistic about the amount of resource a charity may have. Many operate on limited resources - does this match the scope of your ambitions, and is a partnership with them tenable?
As part of any agreement, you’ll also need to make sure that you can demonstrate the success of the relationship. It can be difficult to develop metrics or evaluation frameworks for this, so you may need to seek further guidance.
Working with our local communities has long been a part of the culture of Irwin Mitchell. We have a proud heritage of fundraising, volunteering and charitable giving, and the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation, an independent charity, supported by the firm and our colleagues, has been helping to create positive change in our communities for over 25 years. Our wider strategy for working with charities is evolving, and like most businesses, we are continually learning what we can do better.
Kate Fergusson, Director of Responsible Business and Sustainability
What actions should your business take?
A good partnership should be mutually beneficial, and both parties need to make sure they’re confident in dedicating themselves to its success in the long-term. While a strong foundation is fundamental starting point, you must ensure you have ongoing colleague engagement and aligned priorities to make your partnership a success. Here’s what you can do to make sure you achieve your goals:
1. Treat your partnerships with charities like any other commercial relationship. It’s important to work closely with your finance, tax, in-house legal and procurement teams to undertake the appropriate due diligence and research. Make sure you have a compliant approach and are clear about what we want to achieve.
1. Treat your partnerships with charities like any other commercial relationship. It’s important to work closely with your finance, tax, in-house legal and procurement teams to undertake the appropriate due diligence and research. Make sure you have a compliant approach and are clear about what we want to achieve.
2. It is important to have realistic expectations. The charity of the year model still of course has its place, but increasingly, as organisations mature and consider concepts such as materiality in relation to responsible business, there is a recognition of the value of investing in longer-term partnerships with clear objectives and KPIs. There are of course practical benefits here too; running a fair process to select charity partners can be time consuming and resource intensive. At Irwin Mitchell, for example, we made the decision that doing this every 12 months was counterproductive and prevented us from being able to make the meaningful progress and impact we wanted to.
2. It is important to have realistic expectations. The charity of the year model still of course has its place, but increasingly, as organisations mature and consider concepts such as materiality in relation to responsible business, there is a recognition of the value of investing in longer-term partnerships with clear objectives and KPIs. There are of course practical benefits here too; running a fair process to select charity partners can be time consuming and resource intensive. At Irwin Mitchell, for example, we made the decision that doing this every 12 months was counterproductive and prevented us from being able to make the meaningful progress and impact we wanted to.
3. Engage your colleagues from the start – If you’re expecting colleagues to support, and have a sense of ownership in your charity partnerships, including them in the selection process e.g. by way of nomination or votes, is critical. It is, of course, also important to get the balance right in terms of who sets the direction of the charity partnerships. Responsible Business should be good for business and like any other commercial decision you make, the choice of charity partners should be aligned to your organisational strategy and values. If you are a national or global organisation, you’ll need to think carefully about how your choice of charities will be received by colleagues across your entire business. An inclusive approach, which is mindful of regional variations in law and culture, and accessible to as many of your colleagues as possible, should help drive engagement.
3. Engage your colleagues from the start – If you’re expecting colleagues to support, and have a sense of ownership in your charity partnerships, including them in the selection process e.g. by way of nomination or votes, is critical. It is, of course, also important to get the balance right in terms of who sets the direction of the charity partnerships. Responsible Business should be good for business and like any other commercial decision you make, the choice of charity partners should be aligned to your organisational strategy and values. If you are a national or global organisation, you’ll need to think carefully about how your choice of charities will be received by colleagues across your entire business. An inclusive approach, which is mindful of regional variations in law and culture, and accessible to as many of your colleagues as possible, should help drive engagement.
4. Listen to your charity partners and understand their priorities – Most charities will tell you if your proposition won’t work for them or add value. If your focus is on colleague volunteering in the community, but the charity’s focus is on campaigning for change at a high level, your aims might not be compatible, and it may be more difficult to engage your colleagues. Honest conversations are key to building successful partnerships and trusted relationships. When you can clearly see the synergies and shared values between your organisations, things start to get more interesting and you can create innovation and add value in ways which extend far beyond traditional volunteering or charitable giving. For example, sharing training, cross-organisational reciprocal mentoring or even sharing meeting room space.
4. Listen to your charity partners and understand their priorities – Most charities will tell you if your proposition won’t work for them or add value. If your focus is on colleague volunteering in the community, but the charity’s focus is on campaigning for change at a high level, your aims might not be compatible, and it may be more difficult to engage your colleagues. Honest conversations are key to building successful partnerships and trusted relationships. When you can clearly see the synergies and shared values between your organisations, things start to get more interesting and you can create innovation and add value in ways which extend far beyond traditional volunteering or charitable giving. For example, sharing training, cross-organisational reciprocal mentoring or even sharing meeting room space.
5. Adopt a holistic approach - Each member of your workforce can be an important ambassador for your charity partner. Talk to employees about their work, raise awareness, and importantly, introduce your charity partners to your networks and stakeholders in the wider business community. That might be by including them in our own events, hosting events for them or just encouraging people to share the story of your partnership. Taking a holistic approach and embracing the partnerships across our entire business means that we can all be powerful advocates that add real value.
5. Adopt a holistic approach - Each member of your workforce can be an important ambassador for your charity partner. Talk to employees about their work, raise awareness, and importantly, introduce your charity partners to your networks and stakeholders in the wider business community. That might be by including them in our own events, hosting events for them or just encouraging people to share the story of your partnership. Taking a holistic approach and embracing the partnerships across our entire business means that we can all be powerful advocates that add real value.
The list is not exhaustive and if you are currently navigating the challenge of building charity partnerships and would like to discuss or share best practice, please do get in touch. If you are seeking legal advice on this issue please contact our legal expert, Matthew Briggs who will be happy to discuss further.
Expert opinion
In many ways, working in partnership with a charity is no different to any other commercial agreement - both parties want to be clear on their rights and expectations. If your brands are going to be associated with each other, you need to have an understanding about how that will work, how long you want to commit to work together for and on what basis you might want to bring the agreement to an end. Having clear terms and conditions will give the charity some certainty and security to plan ahead and demonstrates that your intentions are serious.
Matthew Briggs,
International Tax, Trusts & Estates, Charities & Philanthropy Partner