Agents Do Charity - a positive start to 2023

Agents and property professionals have kicked off the year by supporting a range of causes.

Whatever the cause you are working for, at home or abroad, we would love to help. Just send details (and images and videos too, please) to press@estateagenttoday.co.uk and we will let the industry know - and perhaps win some more funds for you too.

Nicol & Co: Hospices, foodbanks and other good causes received almost £25,000 in 2022 from a community fund set up by Worcestershire estate agency Nicol & Co.

The contributions totalled £24,900 across the year – more than double the figure of £12,000 donated by the community fund in 2021.

Nicol & Co, which has three branches in Droitwich, Malvern and Worcester, launched the community fund in March 2021 by pledging £100 to each seller’s good cause of choice for every property sale it handles.

In 2022, more than £10,000 was given to St Richard’s Hospice and £2,500 to Acorns, with the Primrose and Kemp hospices also receiving donations.

Meanwhile, foodbanks in Droitwich, Malvern, Worcester and Pershore and the Worcestershire Homeless Appeal Street Kitchen received more than £2,500 between them.

Another £1,000 went to the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust, and £500 was given to the Worcester Warriors Community Fund.

Matt Nicol, managing director of Nicol & Co, said: “Everyone here at Nicol & Co appreciates being able to support so many wonderful charities, community organisations, volunteers and good causes across the county. 

“And we’re particularly pleased that so many of our clients have chosen St Richard's and other hospices to benefit from the community fund.

“The fact that food banks were among the other top nominations reflects our customers’ awareness that the cost of living crisis has hurt some sectors of the community more than others.

“The grand total of donations since March 2021 has now reached £36,900 and everyone here at Nicol & Co is thrilled to be giving something meaningful back to the local community.”

There was a total of 249 community fund donations of £100 in 2022, with other good causes including 15 schools across the county, and various other one-off gifts given to smaller organisations.

As well as the community fund, Nicol & Co has also been active in supporting the local area by investing nearly £10,000 into multiple sponsorship projects.

Those benefiting include Droitwich Rugby Club, Droitwich Cricket Club, football clubs including Droitwich Spa , Malvern Town, Worcester City and Kidderminster Harriers ladies, Worcester Hockey Club, and a number of other sports teams.

Conveyancing Foundation: The Conveyancing Foundation has unveiled plans to continue its “Be Kind We Care” initiative and to support existing and new partner charities during 2023 through a new grant scheme.

The scheme will award up to £2,000 to individuals or organisations from within the property industry who are fundraising for their chosen charities.

Having already raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity since its inception in 2010, the Foundation said it will reach the £1m fundraising milestone later this year.

Plans for 2023 include research into wellbeing and best practice through industry surveys, followed by webinars and best practice recommendations.

The charity has also welcomed David Opie, managing director of Today’s Media as its first charity ambassador as well as new trustees Jess Smith, operations director at Convey Law and Laura Burkinshaw, deputy chair of the SLC and head of legal practice at Convey Law.

Market Harborough Building Society: Five foodbanks in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire have received a total of £100,000 from the Market Harborough Building Society (MHBS) as part of its Thrive Agenda initiative.

South Leicester Foodbank in Wigston and Jubilee Foodbank in Market Harborough have received a portion of the funds to help kickstart their New Year campaigns.

At South Leicester Foodbank, the money will be used to cover the increasing core costs of ensuring the foodbank can meet the growing need of emergency food parcels in Leicestershire. Since April 2022, they have distributed over 17,000 emergency food parcels to families and individuals. 

It predicts that by April they will have helped over 22,000 people struggling to put food on the table.

The other three recipients are Corby Foodbank, Kettering Foodbank and Kettering District Foodbank which are also located within the Society’s operational area. The funds have been divided proportionately based on the size of the population areas they serve.

The Thrive Agenda is MHBS’ new initiative to ensure giving back is at the core of everything they do. It represents an evolution in their purpose and involves a wide range of community activities to be implemented over 2023.

Chief executive Iain Kirkpatrick said: “Rooted in the desire to give back at every opportunity, we’ve realigned our goals to reflect what really matters to our members now, in 2023.

“We’ve outlined our roadmap to a better society, called the Thrive Agenda. It’s our intention to support our members, our colleagues and our communities to flourish, to live the full and positive lives they deserve.

“The first step in this project is to support our local foodbanks in their sadly ever growing task of supporting families in need with basic provisions as they battle the cost of living crisis and crippling energy prices.”

Bruce Harrison of South Leicestershire Foodbank, which is part of the Trussell Trust added: “This is a tremendous and generous donation. It will enable us to continue to serve the people in Leicestershire that are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

“This donation will also help us to develop our service which includes advice and advocacy, benefits and debt advice, to support people in the choices they have to make so that they don't have to rely on food banks.

“It is wrong that our community is having to make decisions on what meals they can eat, whether to switch the heating on, or keep a roof over their heads. With this donation, we can offer fuel vouchers, store gift cards and other practical support alongside the emergency food parcels we are already giving out. Thank you so much for this donation, the Society is contributing to making a thriving, hopeful community.”
 

DM Hall: Scottish chartered surveyor DM Hall has expanded on its working relationship with charities Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland (CHSS) and SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) by purchasing training to support its staff.
The firm originally put in place two-year agreements to provide fundraising support to its charity partners in January 2019, and then extended its support throughout the pandemic.

SAMH provides a catalogue of training products including Looking after Your Wellbeing, Mental Health in the Workplace: Guide for Managers, Men’s Mental Health, Menopause and Mental Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing Awareness, and suicide prevention courses.

In addition, DM Hall will work closely with Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, learning more about the charity and how it supports people living with chest, heart, and stroke conditions through a programme of talks with volunteers and service users.
 
John McHugh, managing Partner of DM Hall, said: “With more hybrid and flexible working patterns, we have opted to continue supporting both charities by signing up for training sessions for the benefit of our staff across Scotland.

“As a firm we are conscious that wellbeing in the workplace has never been more important, and that poor mental health is amongst the most common cause of staff sickness absence in the UK.

“The SAMH Workplace initiative offers cost-effective solutions to empower organisations like us with the tools needed to support good mental health and wellbeing. The firm can clearly see the benefits of providing our staff with opportunities to learn mental health management skills, and it therefore makes good business sense that we purchase a series of training events.”

Greater London Properties: Estate agency Greater London Properties (GLP) has donated £817.50 to the local Argyle Primary School as part of its Support Our School scheme.

For every parent, alumni, grandparent or member of the community who sells their home through GLP and nominates a state school – the estate agent will give 10% of the sales fee directly to that school.

It has proven extremely popular among vendors with almost £8,000 so far being donated to schools across the UK.

Rob Hill, director of GLP, said: “Our hope is that this initiative will help pay for new equipment, books, school trips – anything the school may need to help enrich the lives of their pupils and teachers. 

“As parents with three children in London schools we have witnessed first-hand the difficulties that the pandemic has had on the welfare and education of children, teachers and the considerable strains schools have been placed under.  

“With two shop fronts based centrally in the capital plus 20 years of experience we are perfectly positioned to help sell London property whilst giving back to our communities.”

Agents Giving: Industry charity Agents Giving is on hand again this year to support with your fundraising with its Grant Fund supported by The Guild of Property Professionals. 

This fund exists to help towards the costs of a fundraising challenge or event, meaning more of the money you raise goes to your own chosen charities. 

So, if you are organising an event and you incur costs Agents Giving can help with a grant of up to £350.

David Newnes, chairman of Agents Giving, said: “The Agents Giving Grant Fund offers a helping hand with your fundraising events meaning you can raise even more funds for your chosen charities.”

Last year over £534,000 was raised for UK charities through the fund.

Requests can be made via the Agents Giving website.