Community Investment

Community Investment is more than just charitable giving. It’s about supporting those communities’ most in need with time, skills, money and expertise.

[Businesses] have the power, the creativity, and the enterprise to help us tackle some of the most pressing social problems and challenges we face in our country.

And, it’s about understanding how the choices you make about running your business (employing, buying, selling, investing, locating) affect communities and social issues - where community relates to a group of people or geographical locations and community issues are the key social issues affecting them.

With 30 years experience of working with businesses in communities, Business in the Community has unrivalled expertise and knowledge on what excellence looks like. Community investment programmes that create real social impact as well as business benefits are underpinned by five key principles.  As a company with an effective, mutually beneficial community investment programme you will:

• Identify the social issues that are most relevant to your business and most pressing to the communities you work with
• Work in partnership with your communites leveraging your combined expertise for mutual benefit
• Plan and manage your community investment using the most appropriate resources to deliver against your targets
• Inspire and engage your employees, customers and suppliers to support your community programmes
• Measure and evaluate the difference that your investment has in the community and on your business. Strive for continual improvement

Community Investment campaign

Our Community Investment campaign's vision is 'for every business to achieve excellence in their community investment programmes' and to provide companies with the resources, tools and advice to do so. We provide opportunities to recognise those who achieve excellence through both CommunityMark (at company level) and the Awards for Excellence (at project level). 

Tools & resources available include:

• CommunityMark
• Community Footprint (online tool to be launched Spring 2012)
• Bespoke advice and support
• Publications and research
• Training and peer learning programmes

Our work is led by the Community Investment Leadership Team.