Partnerships
- If your company would like to find out more, please call Justyn Young on 020 7725 0481
Partnerships
Working together in the battle against heart disease has always been central to the British Heart Foundation’s philosophy and in 2005 our corporate partnerships have gone from strength to strength, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to save more lives.
Action
Corporate partnerships provide us with vital funds from companies and their enthusiastic employees, while bringing many benefits to the businesses themselves. The BHF is a top five charity with over one million supporters. A visible partnership with us brings positive associations to a company, motivates their staff and inspires them with healthy lifestyle messages which can have a life-changing impact on them and their customers.
In 2005 we doubled the number of corporate partnerships to 36, including the Football Association and Scottish and Southern Energy. We also secured many new partners for our campaigns, including Boots, Debenhams, Thistle Hotels and Selfridges for the Valentine Appeal, while renewing long-term partnerships with Tetley and Shredded Wheat.
The BHF became Deloitte’s Charity of the Year, with a pledge to raise £250,000 over two years. Employees took the message to heart and got involved in many different events throughout 2005, with over 500 runners participating in the JP Morgan Five Kilometre Chase, over 70 joining the London to Brighton Bike Ride and a fantastic 24% subscribing to their Payroll Giving scheme.
Fifteen adventurous WeightWatchers did some serious walking and had the fabulous experience of reaching the breathtaking heights of La Tete de la Draye at 2,220 metres up on the first ever sponsored partnership walk through the Southern Alps as part of WeightWatchers' support for the BHF throughout 2005.
Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank kick-started their partnerships with donations of £20,000 each and their employees followed through by participating in a huge range of events. When Clydesdale Bank closed its Govan Road Glasgow branch, it was offered to the BHF as a shop, which has now become one of our top fundraising outlets. Both Banks also pledged to match every pound raised by staff through payroll giving.
Impact
The results have been magnificent. Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank contributed a fantastic £318,000 by year’s end, and Deloitte has already reached its two-year target of £250,000. Comet and Tates both exceeded targets in the first year and have extended the partnerships to two years, and the 15 intrepid members of the WeightWatchers trek team raised over £30,000.
Next steps
Following the successes of 2005, the BHF will continue to develop new corporate partnerships and evolve those already established.
Deloitte has doubled its fundraising target to £500,000, Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank have extended their partnership with BHF and are looking forward to an action-packed second year, and with even more plucky WeightWatchers queuing up to get their walking boots on, a further three special treks will set off in 2006.
In 2006/07 you will be able to support the BHF in new ways, through the charity’s partnerships with insurance and financial service products.