August's Sales Fundraising Stars: Four Businesses And Their Charitable Impact.
Paving the way for UK SMEs August’s Sales Fundraising Stars are a variety of bold businesses, that embed social and environmental action into their business via ongoing charitable giving. From a rapidly growing toastie start-up to a female-focused business consultancy; a treasured fudge maker to a specialist Northern law firm - these SMEs prove that whatever the sector, whatever the size, businesses have the ability to make a difference.
In recent years there has been a growth in businesses putting profit alongside purpose, and sales fundraising is part of this. Small businesses are raising vital funds for charities and making a brilliant and powerful impact.
Read on to be inspired by four businesses and their sales fundraising stories.
Fudge Kitchen
Through supporting FareShare we’re able to contribute to fighting both food inequality and wastage; both massive issues facing the food industry. We’re committed to making life that little bit sweeter and this is just one very small way that we can play our part.”
- Richard Parson, Marketing & Communications Manager at Fudge Kitchen.
For 40 years Fudge Kitchen has been making delicious artisan fudge (as a company of fudge fans we at Work for Good can honestly say - their fudge is divine!). Based in Kent with shops across the country, Fudge Kitchen is also dedicated to taking action to minimise its environmental impact as well as give back and support its wider community. In 2021 alone Fudge Kitchen raised £15,000 for a number of charitable initiatives.
This year to mark National Fudge Day on June 16th, they launched a sales fundraising campaign for food and waste charity FareShare - wavering the normal price of their fudge-making experiences, they instead asked customers to pay any price they saw fit (in excess of £10) and all proceeds would go to the charity.
In total, in 2022 Fudge Kitchen has donated over £6,900 to Fareshare through sales of their subscription boxes and experiences.
CRIMPiT
The Trussell Trust has always been such an important charity but with the ongoing cost of living crisis, its need is felt more than ever. It feels very humbling to be able to play a small part in The Trussell Trust’s mission.”
- Mike Harper, Co-Founder of CRIMPiT.
Established just eight months ago, CRIMPiT has taken the world of tasty toasties by storm and at the same time raised an amazing £7,800 for food charity The Trussell Trust. Impressive for a business that hasn’t even reached its first year of trading!
Mike Harper and Ian Critchlow, are the two friends behind CRIMPiT. From Warrington in Cheshire, they were united by a love of toasties but were driven to find a healthier and hassle-free way to make them. They came up with an innovative gadget that used Thin bread to make crimped toasted parcels simply by popping it in a toaster, under the grill, or in the Airfryer.
They also knew they wanted to use their business as a force for good and support a charity that aligned with their start-up. Upon launching, they immediately began to fundraise and pledged to donate 10p of each sale to The Trussell Trust - a charity that supports a nationwide network of food banks to support people locked in poverty. Since December 2021, they have donated to the charity every month and as sales have rocketed, their donations have grown.
Having already reached nearly £8,000 in donations and with their fundraising continuing, it’s likely that by the end of 2022 this business although small will give big.
Talented Ladies Club
It is important to me to use the money I earn for good. How can you genuinely enjoy the fruits of your labour knowing people are struggling and you aren’t doing anything to help?”
- Hannah Martin, Founder of Talented Ladies Club.
Hannah Martin founded the Talented Ladies Club to offer online training courses and mentoring to help women - in particular mothers - who were facing barriers to pursuing their ambitions and earning the money they deserved and needed. But aware that by virtue of living in the UK she was in a privileged position, she also wanted to find a way for the business to support people around the world who had less access to resources.
She started to fundraise by donating a percentage of monthly turnover to charities including MicroLoan Foundation, which helps women in sub-Saharan Africa. Donating every month, the Talented Ladies Club has now raised over £3,187 for the Microloan Foundation. As Hannah’s business grew, in Spring 2021, she and her team expanded their monthly regular giving to include two more charities. They now also fundraise for The Children of Sumatra, a small charity that operates on children in Indonesia who suffer from cleft lip and palate, and Baraka Community Partnerships which works with disadvantaged communities in Zambia, Laos and Morocco to advance education and healthcare.
Although economic challenges are putting pressure on businesses and charities alike, Hannah remains motivated and positive about her sales fundraising:
Many businesses are struggling right now, but I find that by donating a percentage of my profits I can ensure that any donations don’t damage my cash flow. I also think that in tough times it is even more important to help people who need it, if you can afford to.”
Medical Solicitors
Global responses have been totally inadequate…..We must do what we can to slow this down and reverse it now.”
- Caroline Moore, Managing Director/Head of Sheffield Office - Medical Solicitors.
The team at Medical Solicitors, based in Yorkshire, care a lot about fighting climate change and have committed to using their platform to take environmental action. In December 2021 the team at the specialist law firm, which has offices in Sheffield, York and Hull, decided to donate a fixed percentage of business profits every year to an environmental charity.
Led by Managing Director Caroline Moore, they took time to research where to place precious monies. The team decided to raise funds for the charity Cool Earth, whose focus on protecting the rainforest by supporting indigenous people and projects impressed them.
Caroline and her associates have already raised a fantastic £2,700 for Cool Earth, whilst also raising awareness amongst their own clients who too “can play their role in tackling climate change”.
