CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN COMMUNITIES
“There’s no better delivery partner in this field than Groundwork. They have a first class network of people on the ground that’s been hugely beneficial to Marks & Spencer.” Mike Barry, Director of Sustainable Business Marks & Spencer
INSPIRE YOUR STAFF AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES LOCAL ACTION NATIONAL REACH Groundwork’s local C ombine knowledge with our national
reach and you can deliver high impact projects that change lives in communities right across the UK. Our joined-up approach means that whether you want to help young people to thrive, build a more sustainable future, create more vibrant communities, tackle fuel poverty or support people into employment - we can help you make a difference that engages your staff and can be seen by your customers.
A TRUSTED PARTNER Partnership working is in our DNA. It was a founding principle of our approach over thirty years ago and it’s still fundamental to the way we work now. That’s why we’ve been the partner of choice for hundreds of forward thinking businesses big and small. We’ve transformed neighbourhoods with M&S, created brighter futures for young people with Skanska UK, inspired people to live greener lifestyles with Southern Water and brought the spirit of the 2012 Olympics to local communities with Cadbury.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER TO CHANGE PLACES AND LIVES Create better greener places Improve people’s prospects Promote greener living and working
ABOUT GROUNDWORK supports individuals and communities to G roundwork make where they live better and greener, helping people to reach their potential in the process.
It’s an approach that ensures our work has an impact bigger than the sum of its parts. We work where we’re needed most That’s why we’re on the ground in the communities across the UK that face the biggest challenges, delivering thousands of practical projects every year. Rooted in local communities Our local knowledge allows us to create projects that are tailored to the communities they support. Our UK-wide infrastructure means we can then scale this up to achieve a consistent national impact.
OUR MISSION We’re committed to changing places and changing lives until everywhere is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny and everyone can reach their potential.
CLARE’S STORY “I can’t go again - like this Christmas - when we were cold. You cut back on food, you cut back on clothing – you just make a load of cutbacks. And I’ll admit, I went to the local food bank once or twice. Having small children as well, it’s important to keep warm.” “The Green Doctors came and it was a godsend really. They showed me how to save energy, which helped a lot. The best part was getting the Warm Home Discount, they actually phoned them up while they were here and we got it there and then. About £145 – it makes a big difference when you’re on benefits.” “Thanks to the Green Doctors, I don’t have to worry now.” - Clare Groundwork’s Green Doctors are energy efficiency experts that offer tailored support to householders to help them to take control of their energy use and bills.
HOW YOU CAN CHANGE PLACES AND LIVES T
he challenges facing the communities we serve can rarely be resolved with just one approach. That’s why we have a holistic strategy built around three core themes. Choose an area of work that aligns with your existing CSR goals safe in the knowledge that your impact will be multiplied by our approach.
Improve people’s prospects Ensuring people - especially young people - reach their potential is a crucial step in creating thriving communities. Sponsor Green Teams Green Teams are a proven way to improve neighbourhoods while giving unemployed people a chance to get tailored support, practical skills, experience in grounds maintenance and into work. Support Achievement Coaches Achievement Coaches are specialist youth workers that offer personalised support to help young people succeed in education. Encourage Young Volunteers The talent and enthusiasm of young people can change places for the better. Together we can make sure it doesn’t go untapped.
Create better and greener places People that live in places that are greener, cleaner and safer are healthier and happier. Places that look better, and where more people know their neighbours and volunteer, have lower crime rates and higher levels of investment. Invest in Green Spaces Supporting local parks, playgrounds and other green spaces is a visible and effective way to improve communities. A single investment in these spaces can increase local pride, boost biodiversity, protect communities from flooding and pollution, bring neighbours of all ages and backgrounds together and act as the catalyst that brings about lasting positive change. Or why not sponsor a green space close to your office or customers and make a longterm commitment?
Promote greener living and working We help people and organisations to make choices that deliver practical environmental benefits now and sow the seeds of a more sustainable future. We educate school children about the environment, help businesses to reduce waste, help people take control of their energy use, protect local environments and connect people with nature. It’s an approach that helps people lead better, healthier and more comfortable lives. It provides opportunities for people to volunteer and work together in their communities to get things done, improves local facilities and creates jobs. Mobilise Green Doctors Our Green Doctors are energy efficiency experts that help people take control of their fuel bills, cut fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions.
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU A partnership with Groundwork can help you to: Have a lasting and tangible impact in communities across the UK. Build relationships with your local communities and customers. Enhance the productivity of your staff, helping you to recruit and retain high quality employees. Build staff morale and strengthen team relations, contributing to the health and wellbeing of employees. Enhance your CSR and sustainability credentials, building reputation and brand awareness and winning business.
Partnership opportunities Staff fundraising Employee volunteering days Skills based volunteering Bespoke programmes Social value Business support Grant management
ANTONY’S STORY “I’ve been dragged up rather than brought up. I was kicked out of school as I just couldn’t settle down.” “I just got to the point where I had nothing, no one and nobody. Half of the kids who leave care like me end up homeless, on drugs or dead. I ended up homeless, on drugs and halfway to being dead.” “You just need that one thing to get you on the right track and that’s what being part of a Green Team was. It’s nice to have something to get up for instead of getting up and just thinking I haven’t got a job so there’s no point. It’s taken a weight off my shoulders, I feel like I can walk with my head held high. Groundwork listened to me, they’re helping me.” “This is like a second chance for me – a chance to show what I can do.” - Antony Antony was a paid apprentice on a Green Team supported by Quadron Services Ltd. He now has the skills, experience and support to move into a career.
“Our staff really enjoy coming together to fundraise for Groundwork through the PwC Foundation’s firm wide fundraising initiative - the Race for £3m. So far staff have run, swum, cycled, quizzed, baked cakes, eaten cakes and sponsored colleagues - all to support Groundwork Green Teams and their beneficiaries across the UK.” “Staff have also been volunteering across the country with Groundwork on environmental team volunteering projects and even at trustee level, it is inspiring to see the engagement levels building between Groundwork and PwC as the partnership progresses.” David Adair, Head of Community Affairs, PwC
STAFF FUNDRAISING F learn new skills and to build stronger
undraising motivates staff. It helps them to
relationships with their colleagues.
From coffee mornings and bean growing competitions to epic challenge events, it’s a fun and rewarding way to engage your staff. Our dedicated corporate fundraisers from PwC, Deutsche Bank, Gateley Plc and many others have already baked, run, laughed and cycled to create better communities and unlock people’s potential. WHAT WILL YOUR STAFF DO?
CHARITY OF THE YEAR Selecting a charity of the year is a great way to motivate staff and bring them together. We can work with you to tailor a Charity of the Year package that meets your objectives and works for your team.
GO GREEN FOR GROUNDWORK Why not have a day of celebrating all things green by going Green for Groundwork. Whether you decide to wear green, eat green food, plant green or live green - the only limit is your imagination.
EMPLOYEE VOLUNTEERING VOLUNTEERING DAYS it comes to practical W hen challenge days we recognise that corporate partners have different interests, ideas and requirements. Whether you’re looking for a oneoff team building day or a longer term programme of activities, we’re confident we can offer you a partnership that’s aligned to your needs and that directly benefits local communities.
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERING We offer businesses the opportunity to take part in a wide range of practical environmental improvements in the community. They are a great way to get your staff working together as a team and a fun way to make a real difference to people’s lives.
“I had a great time and it felt great to do something positive for the local community. It was also fantastic to meet so many people from different parts of the business.” - Fran Wetzel, News UK volunteer
Our events range from small groups on a one-off session to long-term activities like corporate volunteering weeks with several companies and 250+ volunteers. Activities you can support include: planting, painting, community clean-up events, redeveloping allotment sites, horticultural activities, basic construction work, promoting healthy eating, supporting young people, creating outdoor classrooms for schools and many more.
Employees could also get involved in fundraising initiatives such as up-cycling challenge days. Spending a day at our workshops being shown how to give tired old furniture a new lease of life. They can even take it back to work and auction it off for charity or run a market stall for day and compete to see who can sell the most.
“It was a fantastic day and great to feel part of the community. Many thanks to Groundwork for organising such a worthwhile project and providing us with valuable support� - T-Mobile
WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?
SKILLS BASED VOLUNTEERING isn’t just about V olunteering wheelbarrows, paint brushes and
spades. Often the most valuable skills your staff have to offer are the ones they use every day in their workplace. IT professionals can help community groups work more efficiently, your communications specialists can help us to reach more people, your accountants can help communities to make the most of their resources and your managers can help young people to reach their potential.
UNLOCKING TALENT WITH SKANSKA Employees from Skanska have been using their business experience to help young people see their own potential. This included pitches from teams of young people to Skanska ‘dragons’ who judged proposals for community projects. The process provided young people with a real taste of the business environment, leadership and presentation skills and boosted their confidence. As one participant said: “I think it’s really helped me to find my voice”.
TRANSFORMING NEIGHBOURHOODS WITH INTERSERVE Support services and construction company Interserve are using their expertise and resources to help community groups achieve things they couldn’t on their own. Unused materials from their projects are being put to good use in community projects and cutting down on waste. Their expert staff and equipment also make short work of projects that would be time consuming or impossible for the community alone.
“You realise what you are good at. It really brings out things you didn’t know you had.” - young person after pitching to the Skanska ‘dragons’
BESPOKE PROGRAMMES B that meets your business
uild a tailored programme
and CSR objectives.
Groundwork has over thirty years of experience in crafting high impact programmes that help businesses meet their targets and make a real difference to communities and the environment.
Cadbury wanted to bring communities across the country together through games and volunteering as part of its sponsorship of the 2012 Olympic Games. Our teams
on the ground organised 2,700 events, engaged 180,000 people, supported 4,600 volunteers and generated £3.40 of social value for every £1 invested - a total of more than £13.2 million.
United Utilities has to carry out necessary upgrades to its infrastructure and they wanted to offset the disruption to their customers caused by this work. Working with Groundwork their United Futures programme has invested over £4.5 million in parks, playgrounds and other
green spaces improving nearly 200 neighbourhoods affected by their upgrades.
Groundwork’s Green Doctors have partnered with Southern Water to roll out universal metering to its customers. In just one year the programme has helped their customers save 162 million litres of water, cut CO2 emissions by 1.4 million tonnes and cut fuel poverty by identifying £3 million of support for customers in need. WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?
TRANSFORM YOUR PATCH
The award-winning Transform Your Patch programme was a partnership with Britvic and Pepsico. It helped customers to create better places by buying promotional packs, each improving 1 cm2 of land. This high profile programme was supported by point of sale promotions, celebrity endorsement, online voting and prime time TV slots. In total 170 communities were improved with better skate parks, football pitches, parks and playgrounds.
THE GREEN PATCH “I think you get more from the Green Patch than what you could ever give it.” “It’s the hub of the community and I think everyone’s a winner. We’re attached to a large council estate which is mainly low income families and it’s somewhere we can get away from it all and learn new things. We have children come along that haven’t got a clue what a vegetable looks like. We work closely with the local school, the local nursery bring children down, after school clubs and supported adults.” “It’s the people you meet – we’ve become a little team together, including the different volunteers that come – everybody helps everybody else. It’s rewarding that’s the thing when you see that you’ve made a difference just getting involved.” - Nigel Nigel volunteered at ‘The Green Patch’ - a Groundwork community green space project that brings people together, teaches children about the environment and healthy eating, gives people training and skills to get into work and supports adults with learning difficulties.
SOCIAL VALUE you bidding for a public sector A recontract? We’ve already helped Balfour Beatty, Amey, Carillion, Keepmoat and many others to secure public sector contracts and ensure successful delivery. We can help you too.
BUSINESS SUPPORT offers a range of services to G roundwork businesses that help them to be more
competitive, reduce waste and comply with legislation.
SOCIAL VALUE ACT
Our staff support organisations with workplace wellbeing - reducing sickness absence, lowering staff turnover and boosting productivity.
The Social Value Act means that public bodies in England and Wales need to think about how the services they commission and procure might improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the area.
Groundwork’s environmental experts also help businesses manage their environmental impact, comply with legislation and cut costs through Environmental Management Systems such as BS8555.
Partnering with Groundwork can make you more attractive in tenders and help you evidence the added value of your services.
We also help manage Business Improvement Districts and offer training such as first aid, fire safety and health & safety courses. WHAT CAN WE DO FOR YOU?
GRANT MANAGEMENT is an expert in grant G roundwork management. If you have funds that you would like to distribute to communities, our specialist staff can help you design your programme and streamline the grant process for you, ensuring maximum impact for your investment.
AFFINITY SUTTON COMMUNITY GRANTS With our support, social landlord Affinity Sutton has empowered its residents with £100,000 per year of community grants that improve the local facilities and environment.
TRANSFORM IT! COMMUNITY SPACES PROGRAMME We’ve helped DHL Foundation UK to transform the lives of children and young people by managing £650,000 of Transform It! grants since 2012. COMMUNITY RIGHTS GRANTS
The Big Lottery Fund’s Community Spaces programme helped over 900 community groups across England improve playgrounds, parks, allotments, gardens, wildlife areas and other public open spaces in their neighbourhoods.
Our management of £20 million of Community Rights grants for the Department for Communities & Local Government is helping communities to have more say in how their neighbourhoods are run.
In addition to distributing £58 million of grants, Groundwork provided communications and PR support for the programme and a network of facilitators that helped the groups make their projects a reality.
INSPIRED? LET’S CHANGE PLACES AND LIVES TOGETHER can help you to meet G roundwork your CSR and business objectives.
Working together we can transform places and lives in the communities your business serves. Join us in unlocking potential in people by creating a better greener future - and see the investment benefit to your business and employees. Let’s change places and lives together.
LET’S TALK
0121 236 8565 getinvolved@groundwork.org.uk www.groundwork.org.uk/business