More than half of surveyed brokers (55%) have said that making a positive contribution to society is a priority for their company, a study by Ecclesiastical Insurance found.
The survey of 200 brokers revealed that most brokers believe making a positive contribution will enhance their reputation among their customers (58%) and employees (61%).
Ecclesiastical said that the study aims to understand how brokers are contributing to their communities. Among the most popular contributions are supporting a charity (61%, rising to 97% among national brokers), sponsorship of a club or team (46%), providing work experience opportunities (37%), being part of a business forum (35%) and partnering with a community group or school (24%). Meanwhile, one out of five brokers said they are not doing anything specifically to support their communities.
A quarter of brokers said they will contribute volunteering days this year, and this figure increased to 71% among national brokers. A quarter of organisations have a charity partner, with the proportion higher among national brokers at 59%. Around half (48%) choose a local charity to partner with, followed by a cause close to the hearts of employees (26%) or a well-known national charity (24%). Health charities are the most frequent partners, followed by those serving children and young people.
Among brokers with a charity partner, support tends to be through company fundraising (84%), staff volunteering (54%) or match funding (48%).
As for their motivation for contributing to society, 71% of brokers said that they wanted to make a difference, followed by 49% wanting to give back to customers and 42% looking to enhance their firm’s reputation.
“Our research shows that brokers are already engaged in a range of positive activities, but at the same time they told us that they would welcome tools and support to help them do more,” said Adrian Saunders, commercial director at Ecclesiastical. “For many, they want more insight into how best to engage with community and charity groups and support them in the most beneficial way. We have produced a guide for charities and businesses called Corporate partnerships and COVID: lessons from the pandemic, which draws on insight from leading charities to provide advice and guidance on how to make the most of working with a corporate partner.”
Ecclesiastical Insurance Group is one of the largest corporate donors in the US, having raised almost £100 million for charitable causes over the past five years. The research findings have been released to coincide with this year’s edition of Ecclesiastical’s Closer to You scheme, which provides grants to selected brokers. Since being launched six years ago, the scheme has given £550,000 to good causes.
