Our charity support programme includes this free fundraising webinar series, in-person Fundraising Forums and Founders Forums, the For Impact podcast, and the Movement for Good grant programme.
What do companies want from charity partnerships?
Companies typically want five things from charity partnerships: reporting (proof of impact), marketing and communications support (your help speaking about the partnership on their channels), recognition (you speaking about it on your channels), colleague engagement (volunteering and fundraising opportunities for their staff), and service-user engagement (chances to meet the people the work is for). Not every company wants all five — the work is identifying which combination matters for which prospect.
How much do companies give to charities in the UK each year?
UK companies give roughly £4.25 billion a year to charities. That figure isn’t all cash — it includes employee fundraising, customer fundraising, sponsorship, and gift-in-kind contributions like skills, time, and products. Cash gifts are a significant portion but far from the whole picture.
Should charities charge corporates for volunteering days?
In most cases, yes. Sector practice points to a typical range of £50–£65 per head, or free-but-only-as-part-of-a-wider-partnership. Some charities charge significantly more — around £200 per head — for structured, informative days. If a corporate refuses to pay anything for volunteering, it’s a useful signal that they may not be the right partner.
Is Charity of the Year still worth pursuing for charities?
The traditional Charity of the Year model — long applications, large numbers of charities competing for a single slot — is being increasingly questioned, including by corporate funders themselves. That said, not all Charity of the Year processes work this way, and some can be valuable. Understand how a specific corporate runs theirs before committing significant time.
How should small charities approach corporate partnerships?
Start by identifying the three to five industries most likely to care about the problem your charity solves. Then look within those industries for warm leads — people you know at any level, including junior or seemingly-tenuous contacts. Make first approaches short and personal rather than sending glossy corporate-fundraising packs. And don’t rule yourself out: small charities can and do land significant partnerships.
Director of Fireside Fundraising is an award-winning fundraiser and will run you through how to answer these questions – giving you the tools and tips you need to start securing corporate partners.
Chris Pitt is responsible for positive social and environmental impact at Benefact Group, a family of specialist financial services businesses owned by a charitable Trust. The Group is the 3rd largest corporate giver to charity1 and Chris oversees over £2m of giving, namely through the Movement for Good awards which give small donations to a huge diversity of causes and large grants to charities close to the customers and communities of the Group.
1 DSC – The guide to UK Company Giving 2023-24
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrispitt1/
Discover top tips on Trusts and Foundations fundraising in this insightful webinar with Layla Moosavi Rivers, a fundraising trainer, consultant and mentor with over 25 years of experience across the charitable sector and the arts. Layla is joined by Chris Pitt, Group Impact Director, Benefact Group and Helen Gray, Trust Director, Benefact Trust providing their insights from a funder’s perspective.
Access Insurance presents the key risks for charities and insurance market changes to look out for in 2026.
In a recent Benefact Group webinar, two founders - one from the charity sector, one from business - sat down to talk about the things that rarely make it into conference slides or annual reports. What emerged was honest, practical, and quietly powerful.
We all love a good story! And our ability to tell compelling, powerful and engaging stories is arguably one of the most valuable tools in our fundraising armoury.
Companies in the UK give roughly £2 billion to the charity sector a year - but they also give much more than money. They lend skills, social media channels and can even help solve the problems you exist to tackle.
Discover top tips on Trusts and Foundations fundraising in this insightful webinar with Layla Moosavi Rivers, a fundraising trainer, consultant and mentor with over 25 years of experience across the charitable sector and the arts. Layla is joined by Chris Pitt, Group Impact Director, Benefact Group and Helen Gray, Trust Director, Benefact Trust providing their insights from a funder’s perspective.
AI continues to be a hot topic. In this session we will explore the potential opportunities and challenges that rapidly developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology will bring for charities. We will look at how AI is already being used to help deliver charitable social missions in innovative new ways, and how the technology might radically alter the operating environment for charities in the future, by creating both new ways of working as well as new practical and ethical challenges.
AI continues to be a hot topic. In this session we will explore the potential opportunities and challenges that rapidly developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology will bring for charities. We will look at how AI is already being used to help deliver charitable social missions in innovative new ways, and how the technology might radically alter the operating environment for charities in the future, by creating both new ways of working as well as new practical and ethical challenges.
DSC Associate Richard Sved, co-author of Fundraising Strategy and author of Charity Fundraising Templates brings his usual mix of inspiration, passion, and practical examples to this important topic. He brings with him the experience of leading fundraising teams at over ten national charities, and advising dozens of others, so get ready for a fast-paced session packed with detail.
Getting the right people and looking after them the right way means that staff stay with us, and stay happy with us. However, these things go beyond process, policies and procedures. They are about more than having written up documents on ‘things managers should do in the event of’. It is about our values and organisational culture, who we are being as managers and leaders, as well as what we are doing.
The developments in digital communications mean that digital fundraising is pretty much a must for all of us now.
In this recording Layla Moosavi, Associate Trainer, Directory of Social Change and Chris Pitt, Impact Direct, Benefact group delve into the questions posed following our ‘Writing Winning Funding Applications’ webinar, providing further insight into what makes a winning funding application, how to make your application stand out and how to secure those all-important funds.
In this workshop Layla Moosavi, Associate Trainer, Directory of Social Change, looks at how our approach to funding applications has changed within the shifting funding landscape and shares some top tips for writing winning applications. This session is a useful reminder for those who have some experience – successful or otherwise, as well as those at the starting line.
Being able to demonstrate the impact of your work can improve your chances of funding. Join us for this introductory session on social impact measurement and discover simple and practical steps to begin or improve your impact reporting journey.
Events can provide a valuable source of funding. Join us for guidance on how to maximise income from your attendees and help your participants hit the ground running.. … or cycling, walking, skydiving, etc!
With increasing demand on funders, applications have become very competitive. To maximise your chances of success it’s vital that any application is as close to perfection as possible.
Volunteers are the life blood of the charitable sector. So how can we ensure we engage with and attract potential new volunteers, retain existing volunteers, and build volunteer advocacy?
Effective donor care and stewardship underpin successful fundraising efforts and is all about building long term relationships.
From increased demands on services to reduced donations, the current cost of living crisis is placing the charitable sector under significant pressure.
Over 4.7 billion people around the world use social media. It can be a fantastic way for charities to build their network, reach new audiences, share success stories and importantly, boost donations.
Legacies (or gifts in Wills) are the fastest growing source of income for charities. In this recorded webinar, we attempt to simplify legacy fundraising and cover why legacy giving is growing, why people leave legacies and when and why people make a Will.
Expert insights on what the cost-of-living crisis means for fundraising events.
Working with the Directory of Social Change we brought together an expert panel who shared their tips on all things corporate fundraising.
Many charities are keen to tap into digital opportunities both to raise money but also to maintain relationships with donors.
Fundraising is ineffective when it’s a one-way process.
Watch our recorded Q&A digital fundraising webinar where your questions are answered by an expert panel.
Expert insights on increasing your chances of grant application success.
Support from individuals, corporates and grant-making bodies are just three key areas to source income for your charity.
A fundraising plan is a must to enable your organisation to have the confidence that it can generate income and run the services it provides.
