Business buddies

LONDON EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION AND LAND SECURITIES

The partnership between social enterprise London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) and commercial property owner Land Securities has evolved over time.

The organisations started working together several years ago. The property firm initially provided cash donations. But since 2008, the company has also given skills support and donations in kind, such as providing venues for events.

Donations have included £10,000 towards the Marsham Street Children's Centre refurbishment, £15,579 towards refurbishment of the organisation's reception area and £11,690 for numeracy and literacy training and resources for apprentices.

Land Securities has also given LEYF advice and mentoring on IT systems and marketing.

Community support

Elaine Angelis, LEYF fundraising manager, says such partnerships provide invaluable support to non-commercial organisations and ultimately "make a difference to the community".

Future support has been discussed, including Land Securities providing staff to run employability workshops for apprentices, and running a team challenge to transform a nursery garden.

"We anticipate a decrease in state funding this year and are looking to fill the gap in a variety of ways, including seeking additional help through trusts and foundations as well as corporates and commissioning for contracts to offer our childcare and training services," says Angelis.

LEYF gets more than £30,000 a year in donations from companies, which is 0.5 per cent of its income. "The donations are very valuable to us - without them, we wouldn't be able to carry out parts of our service," says Angelis.

Private donations, she acknowledges, will never make up for the anticipated shortfall in state funding, with the organisation focused on securing more commissioning contracts.

Jack Lawrence, community investment and liaison officer at Land Securities, says the relationship with LEYF is a good way of giving back to the community.

"We do it because we can and because we should," he says. "We don't necessarily get a great deal of press or marketing out of it.

"As a large company, we should be giving something back to communities. The main thing is we wish to be the developer of choice. We want to be seen as a positive thing in local communities."

But businesses have limited resources, and he would be surprised if they have the resources to replace state funding. Many also shy away from funding core costs.

"With core funding, people are concerned about developing a relationship that creates an expectation," he says. "If you wish to move away, you're seen as letting someone down."

MILTON KEYNES PLAY ASSOCIATION AND MARSHALL AMPLIFICATION

Milton Keynes-based Marshall Amplification formed a partnership about six years ago with the local play association that not only benefits local children, but also saves the speaker-maker money.

As part of the production process, Marshall cuts out large wooden circles in its speakers. These circles would ordinarily be sent to be recycled at a cost to the company. But Milton Keynes Play Association has found they can be put to good use by playgroups, community groups, schools and faith groups who take the discs and other waste products. The wooden circles can then be used for wood burning, drawing, painting and other artwork.

Fruitful partnership

Andy Grout, chief executive of Milton Keynes Play Association, says the partnership has proved fruitful for both sides and there are discussions about broadening the relationship to include financial support and even providing skills.

"If you look at pure funding from the private sector, maybe there isn't as much as there has been," he says. "But the partnership with the private sector isn't just about money. They can support us in many different ways."

Grout says private sector funding could potentially fill some of the hole left by the withdrawal of local authority cash. He also believes that charities could look to sell more of their services to the private sector - for example, they may carry out training that could be useful to private firms.

"It's difficult to say whether private sector funding can fill the gap for everybody," he says. "For us, it could fill the void that's going to be left behind in terms of our local authority funding. But we have a diverse base of income. We're not so dependent on local authority funding as some people potentially are."

However, Martin Green, environmental officer for Marshall, is less convinced about the ability of businesses to plug any gaps in funding. He says the company only saves about £160 a year by giving away the cutouts to Milton Keynes Play Association.

"We're finding it very hard at this moment in time," he says. "We're dealing with leisure products and that's one of the first things that goes when times are hard. Our charity pot is a bit on the empty side. This is why we look at other ways of helping. If we have some waste we can give away, we'll gladly give it because it saves us money and it helps them. It's one of our contributions to the community."

HILLINGDON COUNCIL AND GENERAL MILLS

General Mills is one of the world's largest food companies. Its products include brands such as Cheerios cereals and Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

As part of its corporate social responsibility programme, the company has worked closely with Hillingdon Council since 2004 to help support the community near its UK headquarters in Uxbridge.

In 2004, the firm consulted staff about how they would like to support local people. Peter O'Reilly, head of customer accounting at General Mills, says: "We got a really powerful feeling that there wasn't a huge amount for young people to do within the borough."

After approaching the council, the idea of having a mobile youth centre was born.

Worthwhile investment

So it acquired and kitted out a bus with internet access, music production suites, cooking facilities, group and one-to-one areas. Sports and arts equipment are housed in a trailer that can be set up alongside the bus. It proved such a success that a second bus was commissioned in 2009. Together, the mobile centres are used by 20,000 young people a year.

The company will not disclose exactly how much it has given to fund the buses, but it runs into "several thousand pounds". The investment has been worthwhile, says O'Reilly.

"It's a massive hit with the young people," he says. "We get absolutely nothing in terms of financial benefits, but what we do get is a sense of wellbeing and pride."

He adds: "People are hugely proud to be associated with the buses." Also in the Hillingdon area, General Mills sponsors the local Book of the Year initiative and donated 20 tonnes of food to local charities last year.

It is also sponsoring a barge that doubles up as a floating classroom, and the next project planned is a narrowboat with disabled access.

Despite giving significant sums to charities, O'Reilly doesn't think businesses can replace state funding. "Within the current financial climate, we're seeing more firms dropping by the wayside," he says. "Companies getting involved in corporate social responsibility is dying - it's not happening any more."

Tom Murphy, head of youth and Connexions services at Hillingdon Council, says the support from General Mills has been hugely valuable. "It was a project that both General Mills and the elected members felt was a great success," he said. "We're now able to offer a full borough-wide mobile youth provision."

However, Murphy also has doubts about whether these kind of initiatives can fill the gap left by central government funding. "I'm not quite sure whether we'll ever get to the point where these activities will be primarily commercially funded," he says.

PARTNERSHIPS WITH BUSINESS: SOME DOS AND DON'TS

DO

• Invest time finding the right partner You should both benefit from the relationship
• Set boundaries Start each partnership with an honest discussion of what both parties hope to achieve
• Investigate other partnerships in your area Learn from how businesses and charities are working together locally
• Give the partnership time Any relationship will take time to settle and become established
• Think about using a brokerage service Organisations such as Business in the Community can help charities to develop successful relationships

DON'T

• Set unrealistic expectations Be open about how much time and resources both parties can commit
• Forget the "Three Ss" The best partnerships are well structured, strategic and sustainable
• Overlook the needs of the business partner Always celebrate the role the business has played
• Ignore measurement Measurement and evaluation are key to showing the effectiveness of any partnership
• Just ask for money There are a wide variety of ways in which businesses can offer support, including providing leadership expertise

Complied with the help of Karen Mangan, business class development manager for London at Business in the Community