First AAB charity ball raises £50,000
Audit and advisory firm AAB has hosted its inaugural charity ball, raising more than £50,000 for the firm’s charity arm. The funds will now be allocated to charities across the UK.
AAB Group Chief Executive Graeme Allan commented, “What makes AABIE special is that AAB team members truly make the work that AABIE does possible. Almost all money donated from grant round funding is raised by our team members, and it is our teams who carry out all the volunteer time. Giving something back has always been an important part of our culture across the group, and AABIE is how we continue to make this happen. All this work has now been enhanced through funds raised at our charity ball and we are delighted with the result.”
Aberdeen headquartered AAB has been working consistently to expand its offering in recent times. AABIE is the company’s charity funding platform, which supports charities, projects and local causes across the country. To date, AABIE has supported over 135 charities, community projects and other worthy causes.
Through AABIE, charities, projects and local causes are invited to apply for grant funding and volunteer time. AABIE Trustees then review these applications and distribute funding on a quarterly basis. This approach gives AABIE the opportunity to support a broad variety of charities across the communities where the AAB Group operates.
The incredible £52,631 raised at the inaugural AABIE Ball, which took place in June 2023 at the Marcliffe Hotel & Spa in Aberdeen, will go directly to the charity.
Allan added, “Our business has experienced substantial growth over the past few years, and we continue to expand into new locations which gives AABIE the opportunity to support even more charities and worthy causes in our new communities. We are excited about the opportunity to continue the work of AABIE, and we are looking forward to kick-starting the process for our next charity ball.”
Recent grants from AABIE include donating £2,728 to Aberdeen-based Miscarriage Services Charity (MISS), to cover the cost of a bench with a plaque in the early pregnancy loss garden. A further £1000 has been pledged to Grampian Disability Sport in Aberdeen, to support the Parasport Festival in September. AABIE has also pledged £1,000 to the TRON Theatre in Glasgow to support their inclusion fund. This fund aims to address barriers to the arts – including disability and social and economic disadvantage – enabling more people to access their work.
Following these donations, AABIE reached the milestone of pledging over £200,000 of vital grant funding since the charity was founded in 2016. Providing volunteers is another important aspect of AABIE, with AAB Group donating a full day of paid volunteer time to every team member. To date over 4,600 hours have been donated to support community projects.
Sheena Anderson, AABIE Chair commented on the progress, “We are absolutely thrilled with the outcome of our first charity ball. Raising more than £52,000 is a wonderful result and will enable AABIE to continue to support local charities and causes across the UK. The support and generosity we received from our clients, contacts, auction prize donors and AAB team members made this all possible, and we can’t thank them enough. AABIE is unique – augmenting the total we have available for grant funding gives us the opportunity to continue working with those who most need it.”
