The future of corporate charity support

What does the future of corporate charity support look like? After over 50 years of exploring funders, has DSC’s Research Team switched to developing time travel? Well, no… but we have been researching corporate giving, and we may have seen the future!  

According to DSC’s latest Guide to UK Company Giving, corporate giving in the UK accounts for at least £571 million. That’s a serious chunk of change, but interestingly, it’s not all cash donations. As Jessica Threlfall (DSC’s Companies Giving author) points out in her article on How Businesses are Giving Back, non-financial (in-kind) support makes up a significant portion of corporate giving. Such contributions can include specialist services and resources, or Pro-Bono business, tech and legal support, plus other employee-led initiatives. 

At first glance, some may wonder, ‘Why not just give cash?’ While cash donations are an excellent source of help, especially when they cover otherwise unaffordable costs, in-kind support from companies is often invaluable. That’s because non-financial support offers charities resources and levels of expertise that they might never otherwise have access to. 

So, when thinking about the future of corporate giving, we know that independently, both cash and non-financial support have their merits, but what about blending both cash and in-kind support to beneficiary organisations? How does that work, and how impactful could it be? 

Research to the Rescue! 

In partnership with Benefact Group (one of the UK’s perennial largest corporate funders – giving over £250 million to good causes since 2014), DSC’s Research Team undertook an independent impact study to assess Benefact Group’s Charity Support Programme. The programme delivers what Benefact Group terms ‘wraparound support to charities, which blends financial support with free, practical resources and interventions to support charities and their work.  

Benefact Group describe their suite of free resources as including ‘expert-led webinars, articles, guides, templates, reports and podcasts’. Their support focuses on ‘areas that smaller charities often find challenging, like fundraising, social media, the impact of AI, recruitment and retention and the health and wellbeing of teams’.  

By blending financial and non-financial giving, Benefact Group have created a programme that is tailored to the needs of those they support. The impact of this approach is clearly visible in beneficiary charities’ feedback. Here are some of the key findings from DSC’s research on how Benefact Group’s blended approach to giving has helped charities: 

• 98% of charities want corporates to provide additional support beyond funding 
• 87% of charities who used Benefact Group’s programme reported an enhanced ability to write funding applications 
• 88% of charities said the Benefact Group programme provided training they otherwise could not afford 
• 41% of charities expanded their network of professional contacts 

You can read more about the research and its findings on Benefact Group’s website.  

Of course, in-kind giving is not unique to Benefact Group; but what stands out here is an example of great practice in listening to charities and tailoring support specifically to meet their needs, such as convening funding forums with expert speakers or providing free practical guides to fundraising, while also providing financial support. The research also highlights the difference between cost and value, finding that for every £1 spent by Benefact Group on non-financial support, it in-turn generated £37.50 in economic benefits for charities.  

So, what does the future of corporate giving look like? If we base the future on Benefact Group’s model, then the benefits of blended giving are, when done well, clearly visible. To that end Benefact Group have given three evidence-based recommendations for following their lead:

Dedicate funding for support

Training can be too expensive for many charities to access, but companies can support by providing free training on topics such as marketing, legal, personnel management, web and IT training and much more besides. Providing support and expertise on topics like these could make a massive difference to those who can’t otherwise afford to access it. 

Convene and facilitate

Bringing organisations together using companies physical or virtual spaces can create peer-to-peer support networks and a place for company experts to share learning and expertise. Many respondents to DSC’s research highlighted the importance of being able to ask questions and feel supported in a group setting, such as the funding forums.

Actively listen

Listening to charities about their needs can make all the difference to the impact of the support being provided. While blending non-financial support with grants is helpful, the impact of that support can be magnified when resources, training or expertise is directed at what charities say they really need. Actively listening is, for Benefact Group, at the heart of their approach.  

Back to the future 

Corporate partnerships have long been an invaluable part of UK charities’ income, and the financial giving has, without doubt, helped change the lives of millions. This research, combined with Benefact Group’s learning, shows how to be most impactful at blended giving. In making this report public, Benefact Group is sharing what is working in the hope that it will inspire other corporate foundations to apply a blended approach to giving. 

If the future of corporate support is blended giving, then this research shows how bright that future can look. 

To read the research summary, visit the Benefact website here. 

For research support to funders, find out more here.

For research on fundraising, visit Funds Online here.