It’s official. Giving back locally isn’t just good for your community. It’s good for your business too. We’re talking not only a better world around you, but also better hires, happier staff and bigger profits.
Here are just a few stats to ponder:
• 83% would be more loyal to a company that helps them contribute to social and environmental issues
• 72% of Gen Zs and Millennials prefer to buy from brands that do good
• 67% of businesses who give to charity reported a positive impact on profitability
• 64% of millennials won’t take a job if their employer lacks a strong CSR policy
So the evidence is clear. Ethical businesses, and those with a genuine and positive purpose, have a competitive business advantage.
ActionFunder’s Co-Founder Mark Shearer says that this change is being forced from every angle:
“Businesses are having to adapt to meet the demands of their investors, consumers and employees who are driving change, by deciding where they’re going to spend their money and where they want to work.”
So, where does ActionFunder come in? “With the old model of philanthropy and charity it was a one-way street of quiet donating. Now, with ActionFunder, there’s a true value exchange. Businesses can deliver on their ESG policies to drive social capital, while communities get the funding they need to achieve their goals. With this kind of symbiosis you can supercharge change all over the world.”
Having a strong purpose
The 2020 global “Strength of purpose” study by New York communications agency Zeno Group revealed that consumers are four to six times more likely to buy from, trust and champion brands with a well understood purpose.
Let’s look at one of the businesses already using ActionFunder to activate their purpose: Sir Robert McAlpine have backed 40 community projects through ActionFunder so far. They see giving back to the communities in which they build as central to living by their values as a family business – and important to their long term business plans.
So is ActionFunder just helping reach communities or is it helping tell the story too? Mark says that the ActionFunder platform allows companies to stand up and be counted: “We’ve created a powerful tool focussed on community benefit. As a business, if you’re walking into a sales pitch. If you’re at a recruitment fare. When you’re presenting to your shareholders at your AGM. Get up your ActionFunder profile and you can immediately demonstrate what kind of business you are, how you’re giving back, and the impact you’re having. There’s no hiding place on ActionFunder!”
Funding without the faff
Our brilliantly simple platform allows any business to connect with and back any project with all the commercial benefits that come with that. Tell us the type of groups you’d like to support. The platform matches you with local projects that fit the bill. Then you celebrate the impact you’ve made together.
We’re already working with some of the UK’s biggest businesses. Like us, they believe in the vision of thousands of companies backing thousands community projects to make the world a better place.
Interested in finding out more? Check out some of the community projects that businesses have already funded through ActionFunder or get in touch to find out more about the platform!
