Advice: Five ways businesses can build effective charity partnerships

WITH the festive period approaching, businesses are being encouraged to look beyond seasonal fundraising and consider how they can support good causes throughout the year. Options range from offering employees volunteering opportunities to sharing skills and resources that help charities deliver lasting benefits for their communities.

This comes as the Charities Aid Foundation's 2026 Corporate Giving Report found that while just a quarter of UK businesses support charities, two-thirds of employees would like their employer to do so.

Adam Bragan, social impact manager at the UK’s top-rated company formation agent 1st Formations, shares five ways businesses can build effective charity partnerships, drawing on the company’s recent work with The Childhood Trust and its established partnership with the WONDER Foundation.

1. Choose a cause that reflects your business values

The most effective partnerships begin with a clear understanding of why a cause matters to your business. Rather than choosing a charity simply because it's well known or because a seasonal campaign is under way, consider the communities you operate in, the issues your employees care about and where your business could make a meaningful contribution.

For us, partnering with The Childhood Trust reflects our commitment to supporting communities in London, and we wanted to work with a charity that helps children and families experiencing disadvantage across the capital. By doing this, we can help local communities thrive – and, in turn, create an environment that encourages people to live their dreams, as our teams do every day.

The charity's focus on addressing child poverty, alongside its practical approach to improving children's living conditions, made it a natural fit for our values. A partnership with a clear purpose can also give employees a stronger connection to the cause, helping them understand the difference their involvement can make.

2. Offer different ways for employees to get involved

Not everyone will be able to commit to the same level of volunteering or fundraising, so offering a range of opportunities makes participation more accessible.

These activities don’t need to be complicated. Businesses could organise winter present drives, gift-wrapping sessions, charity bake sales, or sponsored challenges alongside more structured volunteering days. The key is to create opportunities that suit different interests, schedules, and levels of commitment.

Through our partnership with The Childhood Trust, employees will be able to take part in Transforming Spaces days, working together to improve children's bedrooms and living environments. We also have fundraising activities planned, including participation in the Hackney Half Marathon.

Our experience has shown that practical opportunities can generate enthusiasm across the team. Employees who take part in one activity may be encouraged to get involved in others, helping charitable work become a more visible part of company culture.

3. Use the skills and resources your business already has

Financial donations are important, but businesses can often offer much more than money. Their professional expertise, facilities, networks, and employees' time can all provide valuable support to charities.

Consider what your organisation can contribute that a charity might otherwise struggle to access. This could include offering meeting space, sharing marketing or financial expertise, providing career guidance or helping maintain a charity's premises. Even a small business can start with a single volunteering day or by sharing a skill the charity needs.

We provide free office space to seven charities in our building, helping them access facilities without the associated rental costs. We also work with the WONDER Foundation on activities including CV preparation sessions for young people, educational opportunities and practical improvements to its premises.

These contributions allow businesses to use existing resources for social good. They also help charities direct more of their funding and capacity towards their core work.

4. Build a relationship rather than treating it as a one-off initiative

A strong partnership takes time to develop. Businesses should look beyond an initial donation or a volunteer day and consider how they can support a charity over the longer term.

This means maintaining regular communication, understanding the charity's priorities and reviewing how the partnership can evolve to meet its needs. It also means being realistic about what your business can commit to, so that support is consistent and sustainable.

Our relationship with the WONDER Foundation, which began in 2022, demonstrates the value of this approach. Alongside annual financial support, we have taken part in fundraising activities, volunteering days, and career development initiatives.

Our partnership with The Childhood Trust is more recent, but we’re already exploring how we can contribute through volunteering, fundraising, and engagement with the charity's wider operations. Working collaboratively helps ensure that support remains relevant to the charity rather than being driven solely by a business's own calendar or priorities.

5. Make social impact part of everyday business

Charitable partnerships often take centre stage during the festive season, but their impact should extend throughout the year. Embedding social responsibility into business operations, through paid volunteering leave, dedicated coordination or relationships with local charities, helps make support more consistent.

As social impact manager, I help develop charity and education partnerships, coordinate volunteering and support our wider corporate social responsibility activity. Having dedicated resource helps us identify opportunities, engage employees and ensure our support benefits the communities in which we operate.

Whatever the size of your business, start small, stay consistent, and involve your team.

That consistency makes a real difference to the charities themselves. Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive at The Childhood Trust, said: “Partnerships like ours with 1st Formations demonstrate how organisations can use their time, skills and resources to support children living in poverty. By building these relationships over the long term, we can work together to create better local projects for children and give them a chance to live happier, healthier lives and to reach their full potential."

To learn more about 1st Formations' partnership with The Childhood Trust and its approach to social impact, visit 1st Formations.