The Importance of Business Partnerships

We’ve recently teamed up with local social enterprise Britannia Enterprises to raise money and awareness of the issues surrounding domestic abuse. You can read all about the specific partnership in this recent article published in the Eastern Daily Press. We thought this would be a good opportunity to talk about some of the general benefits that partnering with businesses brings both organisations.  

Benefits for Both Parties

The beautiful thing about partnerships is that both parties benefit from the relationship. We get increased awareness of our cause and extra help with fundraising from a larger supporter base and additional people attending our events. Businesses that partner with us can receive training about domestic abuse and how they can make a difference. Partnership with a charity also helps companies achieve their Corporate Social Responsibility goals. All of this interaction builds genuine relationships between the staff of the business and the staff and volunteers at the charity. 

How Domestic Abuse Affects Businesses

We train people how to recognise the signs of domestic abuse and what action to take if they believe a friend or a colleague is experiencing it. Here are some of the statistics that we have collated to do with how domestic abuse can affect business:  

• 10% of the UK workforce is affected by domestic abuse.
  
• The cost to businesses and the economy from lost productivity comes to around £1.9bn per year.
  
• Abusers can use work to enforce power and control – sending unwanted gifts to work to create a positive image to colleagues. 
  
• 78% of male abusers use workplace resources to threaten and check up on partners. 
  

There is a legal duty under Health & Safety at Work Act 1975 to care for employees’ welfare. Businesses can send staff on courses run by Leeway. We have professional trainers who will teach staff members to spot the signs of domestic abuse and support people who may be experiencing it. 

Successful Business Partnerships 

We’ve had many business partnerships over the years. Check out our Supporters Page for an up-to-date list. Everybody deserves a special mention, but this blog post would be a mile long! We’ve picked these few as a range of examples of different ways that businesses can help a charity like Leeway. 

• Virgin Money. Supported our Christmas Campaign by being a drop-off point. 
  
• Clapham & Collinge. This local legal firm love to get involved with our events. A team from C&C took part in our September skydive. 
  
• EKS Living Clean. One of the sponsors of the Leeway Annual Ball. 
  
• Barclays. The bank regularly sponsors and supports events. 
  
• Mills & Reeve. This law firm donated our office furniture. 
  

We are always looking to increase our partnerships with the business community. Our referrals have increased by 30% this year – so fundraising and sponsorship are important to be able to meet the increasing demand on our services. 

If you are a business owner who is interested in training your staff to recognise the signs of domestic abuse or if you want to get involved in fundraising, please get in touch. Our donations page has more information on getting involved.