Deloitte contributes nearly 1 million to health charities

Professional services firm Deloitte has entered into a partnership with 3 health charities last year and has, in 1 years’ time, raised more than £640,000 in funding and provided £350,000 worth of pro bono support to the charities.

Accounting and consulting firms increasingly make time and money available to support charities, mainly with the objective of boosting their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). CSR, whether it relates to financial support or pro-bono services, builds the employer brand, the commitment of employees, and wins the charm of (potential) clients. With this in mind, last year, Deloitte launched a new three year programme aimed at supporting three health charities. These health charities are Mind, Prostate Cancer UK and Alzheimer’s Society, and have been selected by Deloitte employees because of the expected impact to be made during the three year partnership.

One year down the line, the programme has turned out a success and large achievements have been accomplished. In total the Big Four firm provided just under £1 million of support, consisting of £640,000 raised in funding and £350,000 worth of pro bono support. Deloitte has made 3.5 hours a month available to every employee to dedicate to volunteer work, and in the last year more than 3,100 employees actually volunteered – of which 90% was skills-based. “Through our pro bono work, Deloitte’s people have already helped the charities to tackle some key organisational challenges. This will continue throughout the two years ahead. For many employees there is a personal connection to one or more of the charities and the incredible efforts that are made to raise money is reflective of the strong connection our people feel to the causes,” says David Barnes, Managing Partner for Public Policy at Deloitte.

Ambitions for next two years
Based on the success of the first year, and the fact that the partnerships run for another two years, Deloitte has announced that will continue its support. The plans for the coming year include among others a fundraising target of £200,000, to be raised by employees that will take part in the Royal Parks Foundation half marathon, and a number of charity events.