Tag Archives: CSR

Use the CSR as an opportunity to put a spotlight on the work we do

By , Tuesday, 19 October 2010, Be the first to comment

Yesterday I was on the phone to a client who works for an international NGO. She told me that her organisation has recently been informed by DFiD that its core funding would be cut from March next year and redundancy plans were now being put into place.   

Unfortunately, a project we were due to work on with them is now unlikely to take place.

This is one of several conversations I’ve been having with people in the last few weeks and months.

At the other end of the scale, I had another conversation with the CEO of a small but growing charity who is about to have a big media opportunity with huge potential to raise its profile, as well as raising funds. As a supporter of this charity, I wanted to ensure that every step was being taken to ensure that coverage was being maximised.

Her response wasn’t as positive as I would have liked, citing ‘lack of time’ and ‘limited resources’ as a reason for not going above and beyond the work the charity was already doing. It’s simply not good enough.

Yes, this charity has currently got good sources of income and great relationships with corporate donors, but what about the year ahead? Or the next few years? Every pound will make a difference.
 
Today marks the start of challenging times in the Third Sector. We will all be affected by it in some way.

As a social entrepreneur, I should potentially be worried about the prospects for our future. Our work is based on providing services to charities, community groups and other third sector organisations. Our company then goes on to fund social projects out of our profits. So if people are using our services less, not only does it have implications for financing the work we do, but our whole ethos of supporting other projects might get lost in a battle for survival.
 
But I am not worried. I didn’t leave a full-time staff job to set up my own company only to start running away when the business climate gets tough. Like other social entrepreneurs we will adapt to the changing circumstances of the people we work with  and for. We will adapt our services and products to ensure that they are affordable and relevant to the workplace. We will continue to be creative and innovative and to explore other opportunities to ensure that the people we work with get the training they need when budgets are being cut. For example we’ve started to do this by offering monthly free digital media networking events in partnership with the Third Sector PR and Communications Network.   
 
I see the CSR as an opportunity for all of us to put a spotlight on the work we do. It will be strong leadership coupled with forward-thinking, creativity, innovation and working above and beyond, that will enable Third Sector organisations to survive. For reasons beyond their control some organisations won’t make it but I’m confident that we can all face these challenges head on.
 
My life plan wasn’t to set up my own business and leave the luxury of a staff job. But I have and I have had the pleasure of working with fantastic and dynamic people working for charities and other third sector organisations. It’s these individuals who’ll continue to remind donors, funders, trustees and supporters why their organisations need to exist and what their purpose is through simple but powerful storytelling. It is these stories that will ensure that the third sector will survive.
 

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Corporate social responsibility reports are usually back-slapping exercises, but the BBC is different

By , Wednesday, 14 July 2010, Be the first to comment

I cannot say I spend a great deal of my time reading corporate social responsibility reports, but one by the BBC recently dropped into my inbox and I thought I would take a look.

As with all these things, it contains a whole load of patting on the back, but my attention spiked around page 35 in the charity chapter, which highlights the role the BBC plays in supporting the voluntary sector across the UK and the world, both through its own charities and the work it does to support hundreds of others.

What’s interesting is that both Children in Need and Sport Relief have raised more than ever before in spite of the economic climate, with the former achieving £39m and Sport Relief £40m.

On the volunteering side of things, just under 700 staff members have worked with external charity partners through the BBC’s staff volunteering scheme Connect & Create. It works with 10 national charity partners and six local project partners in the north of England. But with 400 members of staff “working” at Glastonbury this year the true figure could be much higher.

One of the Connect & Create projects that really took my fancy was a relationship with Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, in which 15 BBC staff produced podcasts with young patients.

The BBC volunteers spent three days working at the hospital with the youngsters who recorded their experiences of different illnesses.  The podcasts were then uploaded to the hospital’s Children first for health website, where other children who had been newly diagnosed could download and listen to them.  

The BBC volunteers gained new skills and audience insights while Great Ormond Street received a valuable new communications tool for its patients. The project was also nominated for the best community programming prize at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2010.
 
There are real opportunities for charities to take advantage and work with the BBC.

Ten organisations, including Whizz-Kidz, Age UK, Groundwork and Samaritans have been named as official Connect & Create national partners, but I know from my experience of working both inside and outside the BBC that there is great potential to develop relationships and links with the media giant.  Have you had BBC staff volunteering in your organisation or worked on a TV/radio project? It would be good to hear your stories.
 

 

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