Jerry Daykin is the Marketing Manager for City Gateway and has provided the below posting on the effect of the Lehman Brothers collapse on their organisation:

‘Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, who were due to co-run a course with my charity, the Sunday papers conjured up a quote saying: “My job is to get support from companies and it’s difficult enough at the best of times. This week has been awful.”

Thankfully, as I’ve been assuring friends and family, you can’t believe everything you read and I actually had quite a nice week. It was remarkable to see the way in which individuals, firms and other agencies have tried to step in to fill the gaps left in the project and even the guys at Lehman’s have made the effort to keep in contact during a week which must have been awful for them.

The enthusiasm and passion with which they picked up City Gateway’s new Women’s Project had made my job easy: we identified the needs of our project, they identified what they hoped to get out of a partnership and when this clicked away we went. In the few short weeks that we did work together, a number of their staff had already volunteered at the centre and dozens more were queuing up to get involved.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be, and yes our course has been caught rather short of volunteers, office visits and placements, but if building this partnership has taught me anything it’s that more City firms than ever are ready to embrace the third sector.  We need to tie into this in a way which can benefit both parties and will lead to lasting engagement.

City Gateway was set up 10 years ago in Tower Hamlets, a Borough defined by dramatic inequality between big business and the surrounding community. We work with some of the hardest to reach NEET young people and low skilled women across the Borough and seek to engage them, train them and ultimately progress them.

Partnering with large firms has never been an option or an added extra for us.  Corporate engagement through volunteering, hosting tours and placements are a core focus of our work - only then can the real barriers be broken down and individuals given the chances they deserve to succeed.

The crunch has tightened belts and cut CSR spending but perhaps it will unlock some of the other skills and resources firms have to offer.’

What with the great strain that the economy is currently under, it is understandable that community investment, and employee volunteering more specifically, may not be a top priority for many City businesses. It appears to me however, that it is more important than ever that City businesses and community organisations in neighbouring boroughs join forces and develop even stronger ties. Both sectors will feel the impact of economic decline to some extent, and many City workers are also residents of these boroughs.

Despite the negative press attention that is currently surrounding the City, employee volunteering has gained some very positive press.  City Action gained a feature in last week’s Sunday Times which showcased a 40% increase in individual volunteering activity compared to last year and a 50% increase in new businesses recruited. This article along with another that recently featured in the Mail on Sunday (31st August 2008), also shed light on the incredibly positive impact that voluntering can have on City employees during this uncertain period.

The Sunday Times article was supported by four City-based advocates that were interviewed for the feature, with Rachael Hewson, associate director at Mason Blake, a financial recruitment firm, making the point that ‘CSR is here to stay…It’s not something that companies can just dip out of once they have dipped in. They are often in long-term partnerships with the local community.’

We at City Action of course understand the worries and constraints that many City-based companies are facing, and are able to provide varied volunteering opportunities that can suit all levels of involvement.  Let’s ensure that current economic circumstances don’t hinder the fantastic difference that employee volunteers make to our neighbouring communities.   

I wanted to highlight this new funding opportunity for grassroots community groups that are heavily reliant on volunteers.  It is not often that very small, local groups are specifically targeted in order to provide them with financial support, despite the vital and innovative work that can take place within them.

If you are a volunteer for a local organisation, an individual who benefits from attending one or a member of their staff team please read on - this information may be of great interest to you!

The Office of the Third Sector is calling on small local voluntary and community groups to come forward and get their hands on essential funding.  The programme offers grants of between £250 and £5,000 to support activities that lie right at the heart of our local communities.

The types of group or organisation that are eligible to apply are:   

- A not-for-profit, third sector voluntary or community group, active in their local community for not less than 12 months prior to 31 December 2007. You do not need to be a registered charity.

- Have an evidenced income of less than £20,000 per annum, taken as an average turnover for the last three financial years (or over the life of the group if it is less than three years old), and net of any grants received through the Grassroots Grants programme

- Be volunteer led (i.e. with largely volunteer based input)

- Be connected with and/or meeting the needs of the local community

- Have a governing document that has as a minimum the name, aim/purpose, objects, a dissolution clause for the organisation, a list of Trustees/Committee members, the Trustees /Committee member signatures.

To apply for funding, each group must contact their local organisation which is responsible for distributing the grants. You can see a full list of the organisations on the Community Development Foundation website. 

If you are from within the City or a fringe borough please see below for a link to your organisation: Camden, City of London, Hackney, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark, and Westminster. 

I hope that this information is useful and would love to hear from any group that is successful in their application!

There is a saying which goes ‘no experience without a job, no job without experience.’  The City of London Business Traineeship (CBT) Programme addresses this paradox by helping high achieving students from the City fringe boroughs to obtain worthwhile paid work placements in City businesses. This year, I was one of over fifty trainees to secure a CBT placement for two months over the Summer and it has been an experience I will never forget.

I was introduced to the programme in early Spring and was immediately keen to take part.  After submitting my CV, I was invited for an interview and then offered an internship at the City of London’s Economic Development Office.  Having an ardent interest in politics and economic regeneration, the placement appealed to me and I began on 7th July.

The first few weeks of my placement were spent with City Action and the Corporate Responsibility Team. Having never worked in the world of ‘CSR’ I was quite apprehensive.  I was immediately thrown in at the deep end creating questionnaires for the charities that City Action helps as well as assisting Corinne with her projects. I even had the opportunity to co-edit the City Action Summer newsletter which I enjoyed thoroughly. 

Networking events I attended such as the City Comm. event and the City Action Community Tour of Islington were fantastic as I got to meet people from both charities and businesses - that are entirely different ends of the spectrum.  The Community Tour was particularly impressive as we were shown the inspirational work of the charities in Islington - which is in fact one of the most deprived boroughs in the country - and how a little help can go to great lengths.   

Throughout my time at City Action I recognised the importance of CSR not only to the charities that are always in need of volunteers but also to the businesses.  The benefits that a CSR programme can bring to a business are remarkable - such as improving staff morale, raising brand profile and increasing staff recruitment and retention. 

My three weeks with City Action taught me a number of things, one of them being the importance of community involvement. As well as valuable experience, this placement has provided me with friends and colleagues who are very supportive and encouraging. 

As I go to university to study Politics and East European Studies in September, I will always remember my time as a CBT and how fascinating working in CSR is.  Thank you to everyone at City Action for making my placement so enjoyable.