Really Good Business

Being a responsible business is good for commercial success and good for communities. Throughout the civic history of our towns and cities, businesses and business leaders have played a catalytic role in shaping the economic and social fabric of places in many different ways.

There is now a clear opportunity for companies and funders to help scale positive impact but detailed research by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) tells us some ominous statistics.

By working alongside communities and partners, business can help address major social challenges and support long-term change where it is most needed.

What does Corporate support currently look like?

This in the context of CAF’s very latest and helpful Corporate Philanthropy Report (2025) which offers both optimism and stark reminders. Corporate giving remains a significant contributor to the impact economy, but participation is uneven across different industry sectors and there is opportunity for corporates to really make a stronger difference through their work.

Key Facts

• Corporate donations in 2024 totalled £4.26 billion, unchanged from 2023
• Three quarters of UK businesses gave no charitable support
• Cash donations fell by £300 million as many shifted to in-kind or staff volunteering programmes
• Only 24 FTSE 100 companies donated at least 1 percent of pre tax profit
• 'Big pharma' firm GSK alone accounts for almost 20 percent of all FTSE 100 donations
• Adjusted for inflation, FTSE 100 giving is down 10 percent since 2022
• The North East is more likely to give than the South East

There is momentum with more industry leaders recognising the link between doing good and doing well (for profit). Collaboration across sectors on big societal issues is increasing, and new sectors and growth businesses are stepping forward into the fold, particularly under the leadership of founders and purpose driven leaders. Yet charities continue to stress the need for the basics: they ask for more listening space and a prioritisation of unrestricted funding.

One thing is clear to me as I've worked on corporate partnerships through my career, their transformational role is very powerful but they need to be led by co-design and smarter thinking from all parties involved in delivery. Partnership works when values align and all parties commit to clear outcomes. We need to tackle some big systemic challenges, but change only happens when the purpose and the ask are aligned with the right partners.

Recommendations

For Charities and Fundraisers

Corporate funding can transform the capacity for charities to do more, but pursuing partnerships is resource intensive for them. Smaller charities often lack digital presence or trend driven narratives, and they can struggle to argue the case for support. Yet their work is critical and life changing. Here are a few things for charities to consider.

• Charities should keep their pitches focused on people and place.
• Build digital story telling and presence and articulate impact clearly.
• Equip staff to be resilient fundraisers - be clear on your case for support/investible proposition and listen to how your corporates talk and feel about impact.
• Network with confidence, be on message, don't be a crowd pleaser. Listen and remember alignment: understanding what motivates that business and the people you are dealing with is critical.

Fundraisers sit at the intersection of charity and business so we need to consider their role in making good happen. To succeed, they must understand how companies think, make decisions and measure value. They are unique specialists and they should be working closely with trustees to navigate this brave new world of partnership.

For Corporates

Large organisations often spread giving and volunteering activity across departments, diluting focus. As with fundraising, companies where there is strong ownership and senior leadership in the social good space are essential. Positive progress is emerging as more companies coordinate their approach - in large corporates this can be difficult.

Purpose driven businesses need visible leaders to champion this work. Language matters. Many avoid the term “philanthropy” so be thoughtful about how you frame your intent but also be mindful that all sectors use different terms.

To address systemic societal issues, companies should support collaborative models with blended funding and resource approaches. Consortia with civic institutions such as the NHS and universities can lift regional priorities that individual organisations cannot scale alone. Partnerships must be intentional with shared measures and learning and feedback.

Corporate teams should also recognise that philanthropy creates workload for charities. Resourcing delivery of change rather than responding to a crisis is a different conversation so corporate need to as prepared as charities to listen, learn and show and tell more together. I am impressed by high performing national charities who are mobilised to put on a good show here and universities are traditionally good at putting tell a strong story of impact.

If you are a corporate leader serious about taking this forward and place based solutions are what you are looking for, you can book a three thirty minute strategy call with us by signing up to our email list and going to our contact us page.

For Government and Policy Makers

CAF recommends reinstating statutory reporting requirements so activities related to corporate giving is declared in annual reports. It also encourages recognition and incentives for purpose led business models.

There is further opportunity to bring business into wider city region conversations about social issues. Mayor's are choosing their priority causes and have all made soundings on this. Manchester and London have a strong alignment between community giving and philanthropy and systemic issues they wish to resolve. For Manchester this is homelessness and there's some great work being taken forward by Greater Manchester Mayor's Charity and we see great innovation here.

Social value in procurement and contracting as an ethos and obligation is progressing but public sector groups are encouraged to find strong alignment with community and place based giving priorities. There is a clear and continued role for associations of regional funders and Community Foundations here and also lets also factor our civic minded universities which in 2025 raised an estimated £1.3billion in philanthropic funds (UK CASE Insights on Philanthropy - United Kingdom & Ireland report).