Charities are firm opportunity

This time last week, staff from 18 Oxfordshire charities and ten local firms were tenpin bowling at Bowlplex in the Ozone Leisure Park at Grenoble Road. But far from just a jolly, there was a serious side to the event, which brought business and charity together for mutual benefit.

The key word in that sentence is “mutual”.

In the past, it’s been more about charities begging for handouts but, according to Grant Hayward, who is a director of Collaborative Insights which matches charities and social enterprises with commercial partners, the boot will soon be on the other foot.

Mr Hayward, who also helps run business-charities connections network Responsible Oxfordshire Business Involvement Network (Robin), believes businesses recognise the need to be “doing the right thing” if they want to recruit and retain quality employees, especially in Oxfordshire where competition for talent is fierce.

Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, are partly responsible, as they have created more awareness of when a firm gets it wrong on tax-dodging, ecological disasters or mean spiritedness.

Equally, when a brand is seen to be doing something laudable, there is a tidal wave of approval and a knock-on effect in terms of sales and, crucially, attracting high-flyers.

Andy Jones, a director at accountancy group Whitley Stimpson, was one of the ten Oxfordshire firms that paid £200 to sponsor a bowling lane at last week’s Strike charity event.

He says the do-good factor was not an issue ten years ago but now he sees an increasing number of job interviewees asking about the firm’s social policy. He explained: “They are more interested in wanting to know what we do in terms of community involvement and charitable giving.

“One chap we interviewed asked about it because he was already on the board of a charity he and a friend had set up years ago and was interested to know what we did.

“I think that if we, for instance, gave time off to perform duties as a charity trustee, that would give us the edge over somewhere else that didn’t.”

At present, the firm has no fixed budget for this element, with support on a project-by-project basis, ranging from “a couple of hundred quid to a couple of thousand”.

But it is in discussions to draw up a more detailed programme of working with community and voluntary organisations.

Other firms who paid to mingle with charities at Bowlplex were business centre operator Jennings, Clarke Howse, Bluespires Solutions, Hunts, Oxford United, Colourful Coffins, New Orbit and Bridle.

Charities there included SeeSaw, Yellow Submarine, Nasio Trust, My Life My Choice, Restore, SpecialEffect, Ley Community, Child Funeral Charity, Style Acre, Headway and Aspire.

Paul Mabbutt, of Jennings, one of the founders of Robin, believes it is more about the ethos of the business and stressed he and Jennings boss Mike Jennings have been operating that way for the past two decades, providing free space and mentoring support to charity tenants and allowing payment holidays in hardship cases.

He said: “We believe in putting people before profits.

“It is an ethical thing for us but there is a positive business effect which is that our occupancy is higher than average and turnover of tenants is low. We are still very commercially minded but believe we can do it ethically.”

He believes social good is more important to younger workers.

He added: “Young people in their 20s seem much more aware of it.

“A few years ago, Said Business School were turning out graduates who were interested in making money but now they are more interested in social good and setting up social enterprises.”

Grant Hayward believes it is the future for businesses who want to not only succeed but survive.

He added: “For years there have been a number of firms who understand this.

“Big corporates know as soon as they aren’t doing the right thing, they will be openly criticised, and shareholders and investors are more demanding now.

“It is now trickling down to small and medium-sized businesses, too.

“An Oxfordshire firm I spoke to recently told me a client, a giant corporate, is asking them to become more involved with social good, so it reflects well on them.”

What was once seen as corporate responsibility is now regarded as corporate opportunity, he pointed out. He said: “Young people are increasingly looking for work that is meaningful. It’s not all about a big salary or company car.

“When you talk to firms who don’t get it. They think it’s preachy stuff, to do with regulations.

“But if, in five years’ time, you are in business and not doing this stuff, you are not going to survive.”