Giving platform Neighbourly expands offering for mid-sized business in London amidst increasing demand
A multiracial group of people wearing warm casual clothing on a sunny cold winters day. Carrying posts and a young tree, friends walk with a man using a crutch. They are working on a community farm, planting trees and performing other sustainable and environmentally friendly tasks.
Neighbourly, the volunteering and giving platform that matches businesses with local good causes, has launched new features to help medium-sized enterprises increase their local social impact in London.
These new features have been built specifically to help medium-sized organisations to find and support charities and community causes in their local area, as well as allowing them to measure the impact of their giving programmes through real-time data reporting.
Neighbourly’s nationwide network includes over 27,000 pre-vetted charities and local community groups, of which around 2,500 are located in the Capital. Neighbourly’s latest Community Survey results revealed that on average, good causes based in London are helping 471 people directly per week, considerably more than the average of 392 people throughout the rest of the UK.
With this alarming level of need, the new mid-market offering comes at a welcome time for charities and local community groups. Those based in London have reported an 86% increase in demand over the last three months, whilst organisations running costs have increased by 54% as a result of the Cost-of-Living Crisis.
To date, the Neighbourly platform (which until Spring 2023 had worked exclusively with enterprise-sized businesses), has facilitated the donation of over 135,000 volunteer hours, £24 million in funding, and over 140 million meals worth of surplus food, with a total financial impact of over £280 million. Neighbourly has supported global brands including M&S, Aldi, Lidl, Samsung, B&Q, RSA Insurance and Virgin Media O2 to deliver UK-wide but locally-driven giving programmes.
Neighbourly has set a target to achieve £1bn worth of impact by 2025, and is now calling on medium-sized businesses in London to become a leading ‘Neighbourly’ city in the UK by rallying their workforces behind volunteering and giving. As part of the mid-market launch, Neighbourly will be offering a launch offer discount to businesses who register their interest now.
Neighbourly CEO Steve Butterworth said, “Charities and local community groups are facing unprecedented demand from those in need, so we’re delighted to bring our platform to mid-sized businesses.
“London is a powerhouse of successful mid-market businesses, and the sense of community and social responsibility across each district they operate in is very strong. The Neighbourly platform will enable these businesses to get out into their communities, and clearly measure their positive impact; a service only Neighbourly can provide.”
Guy Nixon, CEO at London-based Native Residential said, “We started working with Neighbourly earlier this year to help ease logistics and connect our business to local community groups and charities – which is an essential foundation in creating enjoyable places for people to live, work and play. We understand the importance of enriching the lives of our residents and local communities, but also the stakeholders that make it all happen – our employees. Through our partnership with Neighbourly we’re giving back and building lasting relationships within our neighbourhoods.”
Farrah Rainfly Operations Manager at Lifeafterhummus Community Benefit Society in Camden said; “We run a surplus foodbank and re-use centre for local residents and we redistribute surplus to 11 local hostels and a local after-school club in a multi-deprived area of London. The cost-of-living crisis is not going away and now more than ever we need the support of local businesses to support local people. The work Neighbourly does in connecting us is vital.”
Neighbourly is currently the only platform which enables businesses to manage all their local volunteering and giving in one place, helping companies to put their communities at the heart of responsible business strategies, and give more of the resources they have available for less time and effort.
As part of this new launch, Neighbourly is also calling on small charities and community organisations across London to sign up for the platform for free, to connect with support from the local business community. Organisations can express their interest by simply creating a profile for the platform.
