Your business can make a huge difference to the lives of orphaned children in Zambia, and by doing so, could help fulfil your corporate social responsibility obligations. Cecily's Fund is a small charity so you and your staff will really be able to see the tangible difference you can make to the lives of needy children in Zambia. Our volunteers Gillian and Hayley ran a stall at a British Airways event so their staff could see how the free flights they provided us with are helping to transform the lives of Zambian orphans. Find our how other companies are supporting us.

For more information see our Corporate Support guide (pdf) or >>contact us directly. We would be happy to come and meet you personally to discuss how we can work together to meet your requirements. We can also give a presention about our work to you or to your team.

Direct Corporate Support

Charity of the Year

A charity of the year relationship can be a successful tool for team building and boosting staff morale, and it can provide some of the most valuable returns through enhanced motivation, loyalty and staff development.

You might like to fundraise for a particular project such as our peer health education programme or aim to support 500 children for a year in primary and secondary school.

Whatever your aims, we can provide fundraising packs, materials, ideas and support. Please call us to arrange an initial meeting to discuss options.

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Sponsorship

Charity sponsorship can be a justifiable part of your marketing strategy, bringing branding and media coverage opportunities. It will also help communicate your company as a good corporate citizen.

Sponsor a project:
There are many ways to support our work in Zambia. You could support one of our current programmes or contact us to find out about new or upcoming projects. We have one new capital project that we are looking to fund at Bwafwano community school. The school has a classroom with open sides which is open to the elements - not ideal in the rainy season! The total budget for the materials and labour is about £6,800. We would love to hear from you if you would like to raise funds for this.

 Sponsor a publication:
Our annual report, newsletters, programme updates and DVD’s are sent to 3,000 people across the world.

Sponsor an event:
A fundraising dinner with a celebrity speaker, a lively Ceiligh, a day at the races or a golf day are all excellent ways to support Cecily's Fund and to entertain your business contacts and clients. Such events can raise tens of thousands of pounds for a good cause, but we need support with the investment required to organise them.

 Sponsor our T-Shirts:
We send T-shirts to all our individual fundraisers and those in schools, universities, churches and companies in the UK, USA and Switzerland. Get your company noticed for all the right reasons and ask about our sponsorship package.

Organise an in-house fundraising event:
In-house fundraising events are a great way to motivate staff and raise money.You may already organise an annual event such as a Christmas party which could double up as a great opportunity to support Cecily’s Fund. We can help you get publicity for your event in the local papers - good coverage for your business.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these ideas further.

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Donations

Donations are always very gratefully received and will be put to good use. As well as our usual annual report, we can, if required, provide comprehensive reports on how donations have been used and their impact on the lives of children. Donors are also welcome to join one of our supporter groups to see the work first hand. Please contact us if you are interested in joining a supporter trip. Companies (and unincorporated associations) can claim tax relief for qualifying donations to UK charities. See www.hmrc.gov.uk for more information.

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Cecily's Fund Business Christmas Cards

Do you send out business Christmas cards to your clients? You can choose personalised cards that benefit Cecily's Fund. Cards can be personalised and Cecily's Fund will receive 20p for every card bought. Last year this scheme enabled us to send an extra 40 orphans to primary school. Click here to go to the cards website and browse cards or place your order.

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Wish List – Gifts in Kind

Could your company support Cecily’s Fund by donating items or equipment? We have a small office in Oxfordshire and are often in need of equipment to keep us running at full efficiency! We generally do not send items out to Zambia from the UK as it's usually cheaper to purchase goods in Zambia and doing this also supports the local economy. It does depend on the item in question though, so please get in touch if you have anything that you would like to donate.

There are lots of other ways that you could support our work. For example, we need help with replicating our DVD and we would welcome corporate support with printing and franking services. Please contact us if you have anything you would like to donate or would like to find out more.

Employee Support

Payroll Giving – Give As You Earn

How does it work?
You can give directly from your pre-tax salary, so money that would normally go to the taxman comes to Cecily's Fund instead.

What are the benefits?
Cecily’s Fund benefits because it provides us with a regular income and , because it is automated, it cuts our admin costs. You benefit because you don’t pay any tax on the donations you make. If you’re a basic rate taxpayer, a gift of £5 actually costs you only £4. If you are a higher rate taxpayer, a gift costing you £6 is worth £10 to the charity.

To participate in Payroll Giving, your employer needs to be running a scheme. If your employer does not run a scheme we can help them to set it up! Please contact us.

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Matched Giving

A practical way to encourage your workforce is to match fund their efforts and rewarding them for their generosity. It boosts morale and encourages team building. Another benefit is a reduced tax bill – you don’t have to pay Corporation Tax on the money you use to match employee giving.

Team event

We are always looking for teams to run and raise funds for Cecily's Fund. It could be in one of the runs which we hold places for (London 10K and Brighton Marathon), a run of your choice or even a challenge such as climbing the three peaks. It's great fun and great for team building, please contact us for more information. Four teams took part in the London 10K in 2009 and had a great day >>view photos

Other ways you can help your staff to support us

• Place collection boxes in your reception, office or dining area
• Organise a dress down day or ask everyone to wear something bright orange for the day (the colour of our logo!)
• Display Cecily’s Fund posters and literature
• Hold a quiz evening or raffle for colleagues
• Pro bono work: use your professional skills to help in a range of aspects of our work.

Have a look at our fundraising toolkit for more ideas