Employer Supported Volunteering

How businesses and charities could collaborate more effectively to deliver on the skills that charities need to succeed.

These pages will be developed to help businesses and charities to find ways that they can work together to build stronger communities.

Employer Supported Volunteering research

In 2019 CCVS were commissioned by Cambridge City Council to find out which skills charities are short of, that local businesses could help to meet. This research arose from work the council were doing to look at how businesses, as part of the local community, could do more to help deliver the Anti Poverty Strategy, they needed to understand what good practice existed, what business might be able to offer and what local charitable groups might need and want. This report looks at this and comes up with a series of recommendations aimed to help all parties overcome barriers that may stop future collaboration and partnership.

• Enlighten – for relationships to happen, there has to be an understanding from both parties about how the other party works, what drives them and what motivates them.
• Engage – Once there is greater understanding of business in the charity sector, and of charities in the business sector, then we have to develop ways to bring them together to build relationships.
• Enable– To work effectively, it is essential that the necessary skills and resources are in place for charities to make the most of opportunities. 

Read the Executive Summary here

Read the case studies

• Cambridge University Press, Rowan and Blue Smile - Creating extended partnerships with local charities. Click here
• Taylor Vinters & Illuminate - A shared approach to better mental health. Click here
• Penningtons Manches working creatively with Kings Hedges Family Support Project. Click here
• Tees Law and Cambridge & District Citizens Advice Bureau working to provide people with essential advice and information. Click here
• Arm - encouraging a partnership between key charities. Click here

Check out our slide deck that summarises the research.