Green deal: link-up has topped £1.3m
The accountancy firm links up with the children's charity
This two-year partnership between the accountancy firm KPMG and the children's charity Barnardo's has beaten a series of fundraising targets. First, a "public target" of £800,000, then KPMG's internal target of £1m and Barnardo's own target of £1.1m. Barnardo's also had a "stretch target" of £1.3m, which has just been broken.
"To over-achieve on a stretch target is excellent," says Diana Tickell, executive director of marketing at Barnardo's.
But for the first three months of the partnership, in the autumn and winter of 2010, fundraising was not mentioned at all. Although the firm's 12,000 UK staff had voted for Barnardo's to be its charity partner, the initial period was devoted to raising awareness about the charity.
"That was by agreement with Barnardo's," says Mike Kelly, head of CSR at KPMG. "There was no big fundraising piece in the first few months. You had to tell people why it was important."
Once it began, fundraising took varied forms. In summer 2011, KPMG staff raised £150,000 by taking over Barnardo's shops for a day. The following summer, they set a new world record for the largest synchronised taekwondo routine. Other events included a 2,000-mile cycle ride from Athens to London.
Barnardo's chain of 500 shops also benefited from KPMG's business knowledge. The company's retail practice team assessed the market environment and opportunities for expansion of all its shops. KPMG's pro bono work for Barnardo's, which also included advice on reducing the energy consumption of the charity's offices and shops, has been valued at £200,000.
