There are plenty of ways you can help, no matter how big or small your company
Project funding
At any one time we fund more than 600 development projects, as well as providing humanitarian aid. We can provide our donors with regular updates on projects, which can be shared with employees, customers and suppliers.
Organisations may wish to commit to raising a minimum amount, which on some projects can then be matched by the European Commission.
Fundraising and donations
Some companies make one-off or regular donations. Corporate gifts are always gratefully received by us and are deductable from a company’s corporation tax.
A fundraising event is a good way to motivate staff and build team spirit, while making a real difference to the lives of some of the poorest people in the world.
We can offer a range of planned fundraising activities throughout the year, from places in the London Marathon to bespoke Christian Aid fundraising activities such as Quizaid and the Big Christmas Sing.
Gift Aid also enables Christian Aid to reclaim tax on donations made by individual UK taxpayers. Some companies offer a further incentive to their staff and customers by agreeing to match any amounts raised.
By encouraging customers or suppliers to donate to Christian Aid, perhaps for an emergency appeal or a specific project, businesses can build customer loyalty and demonstrate that they are socially responsible companies.
Payroll giving
Companies can also arrange for their employees to make a direct, tax-free donation to Christian Aid through payroll giving. Their gift comes straight from the payroll, so it’s as straightforward as paying National Insurance and is easy to set up.
Gifts in kind
Some organisations are able to donate goods or services that may be of value to Christian Aid in the UK or to our partners overseas. These may include raffle prizes, vouchers, advertising space, professional services or humanitarian supplies for use in the aftermath of an emergency.
Recycling
Recycling employees’ and customers’ old mobile phones and ink cartridges is an environmentally friendly way to raise money for Christian Aid’s work around the world. We receive a donation for every mobile phone and each recyclable ink cartridge that our supporters return through the scheme. Free collections can also be arranged for bulk recycling.
Affinity partnerships and cause-related marketing
If a company has an ethical outlook or products and services that are likely to appeal to our supporters, then an affinity partnership with Christian Aid can improve brand perceptions, generate new business and increase customer loyalty.
An affinity partnership usually takes the form of a commission for each sale to one of our supporters. Cause-related marketing allows companies to feature a donation to Christian Aid in their marketing to existing and prospective customers.
Event sponsorship
Sponsoring one of our high-profile fundraising events is a good way to associate a brand with Christian Aid and our work around the world. It also provides a unique opportunity to communicate with our core supporters.
The additional income for Christian Aid allows us to raise awareness of our fundraising event and to reallocate funding to our projects. Sponsorship opportunities include Christian Aid Week, Quizaid, the Big Christmas Sing and the Super Soup Lunch.
Understanding the impact of core business practices
With our advocacy and campaigning work, we seek both to encourage companies to consider their impact on people living in poverty and to work collaboratively with them to agree a timed plan of change that will benefit business as well as poor communities.
Christian Aid is well placed to conduct such work, with projects in 45 countries and particular experience of workers’ rights, land rights, climate change, tax legislation and smallholder agriculture.
Enterprise-based development
We are working with a number of social enterprises and farmers’ cooperatives to create economically viable employment, increased income and social benefits for poor and marginalised people.
This may involve supporting local producers to develop commercially viable micro, small or medium businesses, or using market-based models to provide basic services and social goods.
Our enterprise-based work focuses on two key themes: profitable resilient agriculture, such as helping farmers to grow drought-resistant crops to cope with changing weather patterns, and pro-poor energy, for example, helping communities to access ‘green’ sources of energy, such as solar-powered products, which are healthier and cheaper.
Social or impact investment
Enterprise-based projects are particularly suitable for social or impact investment. This is where investors seek to generate social returns while, at a minimum, returning capital, or better still, offering market returns.
Impact investment can take many forms ranging from longestablished institutional soft loans, through the many forms of micro-credit, to private venture capital models.
Christian Aid is exploring new ways of working with both individual and institutional investors.
Download How Christian Aid Works with Business as a PDF (912Kb)
Download the full report The Business of Ending Poverty (PDF 1.02MB)
