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The 60 community foundations in the UK have extensive local knowledge and expertise, and are able to target funds where they will have the most impact and make a genuine difference to the lives of local people. Community foundations have a lot of experience in building and managing relationships with local corporate donors. Some receive a large proportion of their income from local businesses – up to 45%.
Most community foundations will provide a complete service, taking responsibility for all community giving. This includes PR and publicity, and responding to the many letters businesses receive each day asking for money. The knock-on effect can also be significant for the grant-seeker – often the community foundation can access other sources of funding, for larger amounts than originally sought.
Businesses donating in this way can set up ‘named funds’ that can be used to support chosen issues and areas, and managed by the community foundation, or they can contribute to a general fund or to building an endowment.
Increasingly, companies want to know the impact of their giving on a regular basis, and for the company and its employees to be engaged with local projects. “Reporting back is essential so that the company is aware of the impact its giving is making on the community,” says Kevin Richmond, chief executive of Sussex Community Foundation. “Every project does a monitoring report as a condition of receiving a grant, and we feed these back. We also arrange networking events where donors can learn more about what their money has been used for, and are currently talking about arranging visits as AmEx, for example, is particularly keen to involve its staff. The giving helps employees feel that it is a good company to work for.”
“Corporates need to know the difference their money is making, through visits and information,” says Nigel Hay, Director of the Thames Community Foundation. “You have to work with their CSR managers and give them the information they need to distribute internally to secure the budgets. This isn’t always easy to do, particularly for a small foundation, but it is a priority.”
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