We balance the desire for business success with the needs of the wider communities in which we are active and upon which we have an impact.
The various accreditations we hold evidence our commitment to high ethical standards and business excellence. In addition, we are proactive in seeking opportunities to support charitable causes and organisations through corporate donations but also, and most importantly, through the participation of our staff – who are involved in activities including volunteering, event participation, fund raising, environmental impact and sustainability – all with a collective and individual focus on health and well being.
We balance the desire for business success with the needs of the wider communities in which we are active and upon which we have an impact. We care about our staff, their health and welfare and want to have a positive impact on their lives and help them to be great citizens in our communities. In turn, this creates loyalty and commitment and helps to blend our corporate and personal values.
Very often, our suppliers and clients engage with us because of our values. The combination of our engaged staff, clients and suppliers makes for a powerful force for Doing Good together.
In the eight years to March 2023 we donated over £183,000 to good causes.
How we do it
As good citizens our staff do good things for a range of different causes. This may be as school governors, sports coaches for children, public service roles, charity trustees and volunteers to name but a few.
In addition, we support corporate causes through our combined resources. We currently have two preferred causes: The Soma Leo Foundation and Community Foundations.
The Soma Leo Foundation
The Soma Leo Foundation is a small charity established by the Pound Gates Group of Companies, to establish a school The Soma Leo Academy in western Kenya, and invest in further phases of development, meet its ongoing running costs, whilst supporting other nearby schools. You can find out more about the charity at its dedicated website.
Community Foundations
Our staff, based around the UK, have the opportunity to support a community foundation that is local to them. Community foundations are vehicles for charitable giving, and work with individuals, families and companies to design bespoke grant-making strategies. These target specific issues or focus on geographical areas. There are 48 accredited community foundations in the UK.
In the Ipswich area, we support Suffolk Community Foundation, and have created our own fund within the Foundation – The Acorn Fund. Initially we supported causes that benefited children and young people in need. Since 2015, our focus has been to align with the theme of Health and Wellbeing. This covers a range of causes, and we aim to support causes that encourage people, of all ages and abilities (or disabilities) to be more active, and to lead healthy, balanced lives. This includes charities that support people with mental health and stress related conditions.
Since we awarded our first grant in October 2013 we have distributed £46,000 to 33 great causes. You can read more about the causes we have supported on our Acorn Fund page.
To find out more about the Suffolk Community Foundation, make a donation or apply for funding click here.
For all of the news about our Doing Good work, visit our dedicated Community site.