“Before the pandemic, we’d enjoyed working face-to-face with companies – large and small – from across the south west in a variety of ways. Our corporate charity partners were coming on to our hospice sites to take part in volunteering days, we were running successful in-person events sponsored by local businesses, and staff teams were enjoying the opportunity to assist our shops by volunteering on ad hoc days. In March 2020, it felt like almost instantly, the rug was pulled from under our feet and we could no longer do any of those things.”
This sea change, which affected all facets of the charity, prompted fundraisers to look at new ways of sustaining income and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with corporate partners.
Amanda said: “We had to be innovative and think outside of the box. We asked, how can we continue to make and foster the businesses relationships we’ve made in a meaningful and mutually beneficial way?”
And so, in 2021, the CHSW Business Club was born.
Despite the new economic climate, businesses remained committed to giving back to the communities they felt part of. Membership to the Business Club enabled them to continue to do this. Amongst the local south west business community, National Friendly Financial Solutions (NFFS) was one of the founding members of the Business Club and in 2020, it chose CHSW as its charity of the year.
Kurtis Reece, PR & Strategic Partnerships Executive at NFFS said: “We couldn’t believe the response! The Club paved the way for like-minded companies, who were also in a state of flux, to come together and share ideas and strategic thinking. CHSW offered them a platform to navigate their way through an unpresented situation, whilst also meeting their corporate social responsibility objectives.”
