Charity champions: 7 ways your business thrives by giving back
Anne – one of our incredible volunteers and all round Comms superstar – has written this fab guest blog post to encourage businesses to give back to small charities like Hector’s House this festive season.
Demand is higher than ever for the UK’s small charities. They offer a safety net for millions of people, but a Guardian report found that just 2% of charities’ income comes from businesses, compared to 43% from individual donations. Providing charity support can be a fundamental part of your corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy – and it can make the difference between a charity’s survival and closure. But why is it so important, who benefits – and what difference does your support actually make?
Filling the gap between public services and long waiting times for help, charities provide lifesaving support. Clare* is someone that has benefitted from these services.
Struggling with her mental health for several years, Clare had exhausted all the publicly-funded services available to her and reached crisis point a year ago. “I felt as though I was at the bottom of a well, with water cascading on top of me. I was suffocating, alone, with no support,” she said. Clare reached rock bottom, with thoughts of suicide that led her to believe that the world – and her beautiful little girl – would be better without her.
“During those awful days when I was lost in my thoughts and surrounded by the darkness, I attended an online session with Hector’s House. That had been a particularly bad day for me. I felt like I was going to break – and I almost didn’t attend the session, but I pushed myself to do it. And for the first time, it felt that someone saw my struggles.” Since then and over time, Hector’s House has supported Clare with therapy sessions; with sensitivity, kindness, care and compassion. Thankfully, Clare is now on her healing journey, and has reached a point where she feels hopeful for the future.
Mental health support and suicide prevention charities like Hector’s House now support more than eight million people in the UK, many of whom are either waiting for public services or have not found the right level of support available to them when they most need it. For some, even reaching out for support is overwhelming and these organisations are, quite literally, a lifeline. Suicide rates continue to climb and providing education and support services has never been more important, nor more necessary.
At the same time, volunteering is at a record low, and charities must compete with each other to access funding. With larger charities also feeling the pinch, many are turning to the smaller funders that were a huge help to charities of Hector’s House size – meaning grant funding is becoming even further from our reach. The charity staff that provide immediate, often urgent assistance to people experiencing a mental health crisis are often responsible for running the charities; for fundraising, training, hiring, marketing and running the charities’ finances.
For Hector’s House, 2024 has seen a 53% increase in our life-saving support sessions. As a small team doing our best with no government funding, it’s our mission to ensure nobody gets turned away or has to be put on a waiting list for our services. This is where support from our corporate partners has become vital to our future – and a lifeline to the many people we help every day.
7 ways your business thrives by giving back
Your business can play a huge role in helping charities like these continue to offer their incredible services, and the benefits of your support reach far deeper than the charity itself. Supporting a charity:
- Boost your employability: one study found 47% of people they surveyed were more inclined to work for a business that supports a charity
- Helps you forge deeper ties within your community, connecting you with local people and driving awareness of your organisation
- Fosters a sense of pride and purpose: happy, engaged employees are proven to be more productive and stay with your business longer
- Helps inform your values and build your culture: supporting a charity which aligns with your values is your opportunity to demonstrate the ethics, values and behaviours that are important to your business and send a strong message to your employees
- Can increase sales and enhance your brand reputation: brand purpose is becoming more and more influential in the buyer decision making process. One study found 37% of consumers are more likely to buy from a business that supports a charity
- Gives you a competitive advantage: If a business donates 5% of its annual profits to charity, one in five would use this company over its competitors, and 17% would recommend it to friends and family, according to a UK survey.
- Eases the burden of tax changes: you can claim tax relief on charitable donations made through your business, cushioning the impact of corporate tax changes on your organisation. For instance, your limited company can pay less Corporation Tax when it gives money to a charity. Deduct the value of the donations from your total business profits before you pay tax.
Please support Hector’s House this Christmas and beyond
Hector’s House is a suicide prevention and mental health awareness charity – set up by the family of Hector Stringer, who took his own life at just 18 years old.
“Hector lived life loudly,” explains Hector’s Dad and co-founder of the charity Robert Stringer; “He had a beautiful soul and an energetic personality that people were drawn to. The twinkle in his eyes always made him look like he was up to mischief – he probably was, but he was just having fun! You couldn’t be mad at Hec for long, his laugh was infectious, and he’d soon give you a massive bear hug. His crazy sense of humour means everyone that knew him has unique memories that will forever be cherished. The world truly has less colour now Hector has gone”.
Hector’s House is his incredible legacy, now providing support to thousands of people. By naming Hector’s House as the charity your business will support, you’ll play a huge part in continuing his legacy, educating young people, providing support groups and safe spaces for people to talk, and helping reframe the conversation around suicide.
What will your support achieve at Hector’s House?
Anything your business can give Hector’s House this Christmas would be greatly appreciated and has the power to save lives in 2025. Here’s an idea of just how far your kindness goes in a charity of our size:
A £25 donation provides 1 hour’s listening ear support for someone facing mental health challenges. We provide compassionate, immediate assistance to individuals experiencing mental health struggles or suicidal thoughts. By offering a caring listening ear and connecting them to the right therapeutic resources, we work to prevent suicide and bring hope, showing that with the right support, things can get better.
A £50 donation covers the cost of a counselling session. With the rising cost of living, many in need struggle to afford therapy. Your donation can ease this burden, providing essential support to those in distress and making a significant difference in their lives.
A £100 donation helps to provide a men’s talking therapy group session, offering a safe and confidential space for men to speak openly and freely about their mental health. This compassionate step can make a meaningful difference, helping to strengthen mental well-being before more intensive support becomes necessary.
A £300 donation enables us to present our “Eat, Move, Love” mental health talk to over 200 students at a local secondary school. This session empowers young people to better understand their emotions and encourages them to seek support when needed. By promoting healthy living, we aim to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and help students improve their well-being through better nutrition, increased physical activity, and learning to love themselves and others more.
A £500 donation provides training for 10 people to become suicide-alert helpers in our communities. Our safeTALK training equips participants with life-saving skills to recognise when someone is struggling with suicidal thoughts and connect them to the right resources for support, ultimately helping to save lives.
A £1,000 donation funds 4 well-being presentations for organisations and groups. These sessions focus on mental health self-care, including eight strategies for recharging, stress management tips, self-check-in methods, and guidance on accessing support. Your contribution could positively impact over 160 people.
A £10,000 donation would provide a new website and database that would massively benefit the people we support. Our vision is to have a website that is more interactive and tailored for individuals’ needs. For instance, a separate site just for young people! Doing this without your support would have a huge impact on the charities current reserves which are currently in place to ensure we can continue supporting our beneficiaries.
A £25,000 donation would fund an additional team member who could provide listening ear support for those reaching out to us in crisis. As a small team of two support workers, this would lessen waiting times for support calls, increase our capacity for number of peeople helped each week and ensure the wellbeing of the existing team.
And just to give you an idea… with a £500,000 donation, we could bring a physical Hector’s House to life! Our heartfelt goal is to create a safe haven where those in crisis can find support—a place where they are truly heard, listened to, and able to receive therapy to guide them on their path to wellness. (Well, if you don’t ask, you don’t get!)
How to get involved
If you’re inspired to make a difference in suicide prevention and mental health for people in Herts, Bucks, and Beds, please reach out to Karyn at karyn@hectorshouse.org.uk.
*We’ve changed Clare’s name in this article.
