Connecting charities with business funding and partnership opportunities was a key focus of Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid’s third Charity Network event on 27 January.

A challenging landscape for charities

Following networking and refreshments, the Chamber’s Director of Partnerships Penny Lock welcomed attendees to the event and acknowledged the tough grants and funding landscape that charities and not for profit organisations are currently operating in, before pinpointing chances for charities to benefit from initiatives run by academic institutions and businesses such as Cardiff University, Educ8 and Sacyr.

The event was hosted at Chamber member RBC Brewin Dolphin’s Cardiff office. Brewin Dolphin is a values led organisation which is committed to helping its clients thrive and communities prosper. Paul Mathias, part of Brewin Dolphin’s specialist charity team, added that despite it being a really difficult time for charities, it is heartening to see everyone rallying round at events such as the Chamber’s Charity Network to help the sector.

Driving sustainable progress

Chantal Gore works with both the public and private sector in her role as Area Sales Manager at family-owned business Enterprise Mobility. She is one of over 150 employees of the people-first, purpose-led company in Wales which sees mobility as the driving force of progress and supports a sustainable transportation future.

To support the company’s vision of being a responsible corporate citizen with the ability to strengthen communities one neighbourhood at a time, Chantal plays a key role in their philanthropy and community projects and shared information about:

• The Enterprise Mobility Foundation which donates £150,000 to charities each year
• Volunteer days
• The work to support nature conservation
• The ‘Fill Your Tank’ food security initiative
• The ‘Road Forward’ social equity programme

As Chantal shared, charity is not just a core part of Enterprise Mobility’s business, but is simply the right thing to do. In Wales, the company works with the Business in the Community network, local and national causes to build longstanding relationships that provide support beyond donations.

Making a difference

Michelle Byrne, Events and Charity Lead at Bute Energy, started her talk by sharing her experiences of working within the charity sector and as a fundraiser.

Michelle began her career in the payroll giving department of Tŷ Hafan, encouraging people to donate from their salaries, if they were able, to ensure the charity had a reliable, regular source of income. Due to health diagnoses faced by family, friends and herself, Michelle has tackled her fear of heights through a number of fundraising challenges such as the Welsh Three Peaks, a trek in Iceland and hiking the Great Wall of China. Michelle highlighted that one person can make a difference; she has personally raised £25,000 for charity.

Now, Michelle is part of the team at renewable energy and infrastructure company Bute Energy which takes a slightly different approach to the ‘charity of the year’. Bute Energy partners with two charities for a period of three years to demonstrate a long-term commitment and keep the fundraising momentum going past the initial planning stages.

Staff are heavily involved in the selection of the chosen charities and an internal skills survey ensures that staff and charities are matched correctly for all volunteering opportunities. Like Enterprise Mobility, taking care to create strong relationships between the business and charities is vital to its success in providing support.

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