Youth groups seek business nous

Youth organisations, it seems, do not “get” business. In recent weeks, two separate reports about efforts to bring youth workers and companies together have delivered messages that make for grim reading at a time when many services for young people are hunting for new ways to balance the books.

The reports talk of youth groups being unable to explain what they want from businesses, a lack of realism in what youth organisations ask companies to provide and a failure to even work out what their organisation might need in terms of business support.

But while the United Futures and National Youth Agency reports point towards a great deal of room for improvement, there are success stories.

One of those is Young Devon. It was part of the United Futures initiative, run by Business in the Community, UK Youth and the National Children’s Bureau, that sought to match youth groups with potential business partners. The programme put Young Devon in touch with Royal Mail’s data entry centre in Plymouth.

A business perspective
Dan Coxon, head of fundraising and communications at the charity, says that being part of United Futures helped them understand business.

“Before we were put in touch with Royal Mail, we went through a self-assessment process,” he says. “That gave us a better idea of what we could get from businesses and what businesses could get in return.

“A lot of charities – and we’re of the same mindset – initially think there’s an opportunity to get some new revenue. But doing the assessment helped us think about it from a business perspective. Businesses are facing tough times too, so there’s less free money available, but they may be able to support us in different ways.”

Mark Rowles, business and development executive at Plymouth YMCA – which established a partnership with the food company Ginsters via United Futures – agrees that money should not be a starting point.

“I was always looking at the in-kind contribution,” he says. “When we started, the help they gave probably seems simplistic. We had a little issue around occupational health. I was able to phone their HR manager, who has lots of experience, and get some advice.”

From there, the relationship has grown. When the YMCA needed money for a bouncy castle, Ginsters supplied them with pasties to sell to help raise the cash – a deal that benefited both organisations.

“We worked extremely hard to tell the press what was going on. We did a piece for the Plymouth Herald with a photo of Ginsters outside the bouncy castle with the children,” says Rowles. “So Ginsters was getting good publicity as well as us. After that, we got confident in one another, we knew that we were both professional organisations and the work built from there.”

Young Devon’s relationship with Royal Mail has also been focused on in-kind support. “The first thing for us was work experience,” says Coxon.
 
“That was an immediate quick win. It offered our young people experience and greater employability, which is great.

For Royal Mail, it was an easy offer because they frequently do work experience and they got a group of young people they could use as a management training cohort for a trainee manager. There was value for them and value for us.”

The relationship has also helped Young Devon get support from elsewhere. “We were able to invite Plymouth Citybus to the United Futures reception, where I was able to get into a conversation with their managing director,” he says.

That conversation led to the bus operator providing free travel to and from Plymouth for young people at the charity’s housing projects in Ivybridge.

Mutual benefits
“Those bus passes are worth thousands and mean the young people can get to college,” Coxon says. “It’s a huge benefit for our young people, but it’s an easy give for Citybus because if there’s a bus service, it’s going to run whether there’s a free bum on the seat or a paying bum. It’s about knowing and understanding what they can do that fits with their business.”

Rowles agrees that understanding your business partner is essential, especially when working out what your organisation can offer in return. “We looked at not only what Ginsters could give us, but what we could give to Ginsters. There were more things than we first thought. We run fitness facilities, so we offered a special package for all their staff. We do some training, so we offered them mental health and first aid training.”

It’s important to think long-term, he adds. “I can’t stress this enough: you have to do it for the long haul. I want Ginsters to be with us for the next five or 10 years. I’m a great believer in building a relationship.

“Because we’ve worked with them and they haven’t seen us as a sponging youth service, they suddenly agreed to sponsor us £1,000 for our work with disabled young people. Like any partnership, it’s working because both parties feel they are getting what they need.”

For details on the United Futures’ Evaluation of United Futures, go to http://tinyurl.com/cv6fzef. For the National Youth Agency’s brokering engagement from the business community for the youth sector, go to http://tinyurl.com/cc5nodm