Community
January 01 2006
by Briefing StaffWhat gives?
The value of gifts in-kind made by corporations has increased threefold to £165.6m since 2000, according to the latest figures from Business in the Community's PerCent Standard, while the value of employee hours donated has doubled to £54.4m. Over the past year the 174 companies participating in the standard collectively gave £814m in cash, time or in-kind. In the case of GlaxoSmithKline, nearly half (46%) of its £123m contribution consisted of gifts in kind. Nearly three-quarters (127) of participants in the standard contributed more than 1% of pre-tax profit, with top performer Axis Europe giving 14.7%, worth £112,064. High percentages were particularly common among small and medium enterprises. This year's results indicate trends both for company contributions to take the form of staff time and gifts in-kind and for companies to put a monetary value on such contributions. However, the methodology used to assess the monetary value of non-financial contributions varies from company to company. The findings of the 2005 Giving List of community contributions among FTSE100 companies, however, are less buoyant than those of the PerCent Standard. Contributions have fallen from 0.97% of pre-tax profits last year down to 0.87% this year, with the list echoing the PerCent Club trend towards gifts in kind and skills rather than cash. ITV topped the ranking by donating what it valued at 10.8% of its pre-tax profits, £19.8m of which consisted of gifts in-kind, largely in the form of airtime devoted to national health and fitness campaign, Britain on the Move. Similarly WPP (2.9%), which rose two places to number four, included in its figures pro bono work valued at £10.6m, as compared with its cash donation of £2.6m. Rio Tinto, which ranked in eighth place overall was the top giver of cash contributions. Though it included mandatory contributions, its total was valued at £49.63m as compared with ITV's cash donation of £2.6m. Only 27 companies gave more than 1% of pre-tax profits (as compared with 127 PerCent Club participants) while the bottom 15 gave less than 0.01%. Contact Sarah Hebburn, Business in the Community 020 7566 8796 http://www.bitc.org.uk; Murray Armstrong, the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk
On the payroll
The number of small businesses signed up to payroll giving has doubled since the launch of the Payroll Giving Grants programme in January 2005. From January 2006, the Institute of Fundraising will launch a quality mark scheme, which will provide employers that sign up to payroll giving with a certificate, use of a logo and reward those that achieve minimum level participation rates with Bronze, Silver or Gold awards. Contact IOF 020 7840 1000 http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk
Cause related business
A new award entitled The BT Cause Related Business Award has been launched as part of Business in the Community's Awards for Excellence 2006. The award is open to companies of any size who can demonstrate excellence in tackling key social issues by forging mutually beneficial partnerships with charities or good causes. It is expected that there will be a significant number of contenders for the award, as cause related business partnerships have grown increasingly innovative, with businesses mobilising staff time, in-kind donations, brand equity as well as cash. BT is sponsoring the award, the winner of which will be revealed at the Awards for Excellence gala dinner in July 2006. Contact Sarah Hebburn, Business in the Community 020 7566 8796 http://www.bitc.org.uk/awards
ExxonMobil acclaimed
ExxonMobil has won the Energy Institute's International Platinum Award for its partnership with UK charities Learning through Landscapes and the Centre of Research Education and Training in Energy (CREATE). The partnership was awarded for its work in encouraging young people to take an interest in engineering, technology and science through the ExxonMobil Link School Programme. The Energy Institute, which promotes the safe, environmentally and efficient supply and use of energy in all forms, gave the ExxonMobil Link School Programme the award for its fresh and innovative thinking, which ensures that the energy industry continues to attract young people. Denice Fennell, Community Affairs manager for ExxonMobil said: " We worked closely with the teaching staff in our Link Schools to develop a programme that involves hands-on experience. To date, thousands of UK youngsters have benefited from the scheme." Contact David Eglinton, ExxonMobil 01372 22 2261 http://www.exxonmobil.co.uk
COMPANIES AND COMMUNITIES
The Royal Bank of Scotland and Compass Group UK & Ireland have won the 2005 Companies & Communities Awards, hosted by the Charities Aid Foundation. RBS won the Effective Giving award, with judges commending its wide-ranging and integrated community investment programme. The bank improves employee personal development by linking its volunteering scheme to the appraisal system. It also double matches payroll donations made through Give As You Earn and has increased take-up of the scheme at a national level since running an advertising campaign on television. EDF Energy and John Lewis Partnership were both highly commended in this category. Compass took the Innovation award, which recognises companies that have implemented a campaign or project that is particularly innovative, resourceful or original. Unilever UK was highly commended in this category. Contact Vicki Pulman, CAF 01732 520 094 http://www.cafonline.org
SPACES FOR SPORTS
The White Hart Lane Community Sports Centre in North London is the first flagship site to be opened as part of the £30m Barclays Spaces for Sports initiative, which aims to revitalise communities by giving people the opportunity to take part in sport locally. A £600,000 investment by Barclays and the Football Foundation has transformed a previously derelict and dilapidated sports centre, fitting it out with an artificial turf pitch, four resurfaced tennis courts and new floodlights. The bank is also contributing a further £45,000 to ensure the sustainability of the site, as well as kit and equipment worth £5,000. The centre will offer a range of activities to all members of the community, including schools. Contact Louise Stevenson, Barclays 020 7908 6488 http://www.barclays.com
HSBC and FirstDirect have launched a facility for customers to donate to charity via 2,900 ATMs in the UK, following the successful launch of a similar service in Mexico. Contact Caroline Mooney, HSBC 020 7991 0641 http://www.hsbc.com
Argos has launched a new customer donation facility - Tick to Give - to raise funds for Help the Hospices, the national charity for the hospice movement. Contact Kate Smith, Argos 0845 120 4365 http://www.argos.co.uk
Google has donated $3m to the US-based Library of Congress to help it begin building a World Digital Library, a project to place significant primary materials from libraries around the world on the internet in electronic format. Google is the first private-sector contributor to the initiative. Contact Ema Linaker, Google 020 7031 3130 http://www.google.com
Editorial Comment
The PerCent Club says in-kind giving is up. The Guardian says total giving is down when measured as a percentage of profits. (But did ITV really give 10% of its pre-tax profits away last year? If so, shareholders should be asking management some tough questions. More likely, they are overstating their broadcast time, claiming the notional worth to the community as the cost to the company.) Six months ago the Charities Aid Foundation rather spoilt its survey showing an increase in giving by attributing half the total to just one company, GlaxoSmithKline. Indeed equivalent surveys in America are bedevilled by the inclusion of apparently huge donations by that sector's behemoths.
If reputable organisations publish dodgy data, does any of the resulting confusion really matter? After all, individual companies are increasingly professional about what they do in this area - community projects clearly linked to the strategic business case, with measures in place to assess the payback on the investment for company and community. And long ago the London Benchmarking Group sorted out a robust evaluation framework that's there for those who want to use it. (Here Briefing must declare an interest, as our publisher manages the LBG on behalf of its corporate members.) It's just that we feel the value of individual efforts would be enhanced if the sector as a whole - companies, community beneficiaries and their intermediary organisations - could work together to present a full and accurate picture of the good they achieve.