New Guide launched for Community Groups to assist them to strategically partner with businesses

On Monday, May 17th, Pat Carey T.D., Minister at the Department of Community, Equality And Rural Affairs launched an innovative new guide entitled, “Communities and Business Working Together” at an event in the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin. The guide, published by non profit organisation Business in the Community Ireland and sponsored by Diageo Ireland and Ulster Bank, aims to help community and voluntary groups work with businesses in Ireland to achieve sustainable community development.

A key objective of the guide is to persuade community and voluntary groups to interpret their needs in terms of business skills, manpower and volunteering time rather than cash. The guide also provides a step by step process that community and voluntary groups can adopt when approaching businesses.

“I congratulate Business in the Community Ireland, Diageo Ireland and Ulster Bank on the publication of this guide as it should be an invaluable resource to the community and voluntary sector. Irish companies can have a major impact on our country’s society and there is a multitude of skills and expertise available out there which can be tapped into. The essential ingredient to success is that businesses and community groups develop long term partnerships and this really can result in huge benefits for both”, said Minister Pat Carey.

At today’s event, staff from Diageo Ireland and Ulster Bank spoke about their experiences of working with the community sector and the benefits they themselves experienced due to the partnership. The community partners also spoke about the benefits of engaging with such high profile companies.

Business in the Community Ireland is a network of Ireland’s biggest companies dedicated to corporate responsibility. One of its key services is to guide top companies through a process of implementing strategic community involvement programmes. Taking a strategic approach to community involvement can deliver benefits to the business while making a positive social impact. The benefits include greater market share and customer loyalty, enhanced employee skills and morale, improved supplier links and a better reputation.

Tina Roche, Chief Executive of Business in the Community Ireland commented, “The days of companies writing cheques for charities are well behind us. The community and voluntary sector realise that they need to take a more strategic and long term partnership approach to engaging business. This guide aims to equip the community sector with the right tools and advice on how best to approach companies and more importantly how those partnerships can be sustainable and mutually beneficial”.

The “Communities and Business Working Together” guide presents the benefits of business support through case studies. These case studies captured on video feature the community, business and employee representatives talking about their community partnerships and highlight the different types of business support provided as well as the successes achieved. In addition to Diageo Ireland and Ulster Bank, other companies featured in the guide include, Aviva, BT Ireland, Cpl, Deloitte, O2 and Janssen. The guide is now available free of charge onhttp://www.bitc.ie/corporate_respon...

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Editors’ notes:

- The Guide was compiled by Business in the Community Ireland and was sponsored by two of its member companies, Diageo Ireland and Ulster Bank.

- Case studies featured in the guide include

Aviva and St Francis Nursing Home
BT Ireland, Cpl and EPIC
Deloitte and Merchants Quay Ireland
Diageo Ireland, the Arthur Guinness Fund and Social Entrepreneurs Ireland
02 and Irish Autism Action
Janssen and Special Olympics Munster
Ulster Bank and the MoneySense for Schools Programme

About Diageo:

Diageo is the world’s leading premium drinks business with an outstanding collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, wines, and beer categories. These brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines. Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries.

About Diageo’s community investment programmes:

Through an annual investment of 1% of total global operating profits per annum Diageo is involved in a wide ranging programme of community investment initiatives. These initiatives nurture its relationship with society within the markets in which it operates; with the environment and with communities in need. They assist Diageo in its aims to play a full and responsible role in society; manage its environmental impacts and contribute to economic growth. Last month Diageo invested in Ireland’s future by backing people with “a business head and a social heart”, as the Arthur Guinness Fund awardees 2010 were officially announced at a special awards ceremony. €1 million was distributed among ten social entrepreneurs with diverse projects from across the country, with each project receiving €100,000. In total, the Arthur Guinness Fund is investing €2.5 million over the next two years.

About Ulster Bank Group:

Ulster Bank Group is part of The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group. For more information, visit http://www.ulsterbank.ie or http://www.ulsterbank.co.uk

About Ulster Bank’s community investment programmes:

Our community programmes focus on delivering genuine benefits that make a difference to people’s lives throughout Ireland. We invest in programmes that are most relevant for us as a financial institution – in particular promoting financial education and supporting new enterprises. You can read about our community investment programmes at www.ulsterbank.com