Rooted in Community: Rethinking how we support local causes

We all know how important it is to support local causes – and for many businesses, the go-to solution has been volunteering days. Offering your team a day or two a year to work with a charity is well-intentioned and often feels like the right thing to do. But over the years at Projects, we’ve learnt that while the sentiment is spot on, the reality can be more complex.

For charities – especially those working with vulnerable people – setting up one-off volunteering opportunities can be time-consuming, resource-intensive and sometimes, not actually what they need. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t engage. It just means we might need to think differently about how we show up and offer support.

There’s more than one way to help

Supporting a charity doesn’t always need to involve pulling on a high-vis vest or painting a community centre (although sometimes, it does). Often, the most impactful support is quieter, more consistent and more strategic.

Here are a few ways businesses across the UK are making a real difference:

• Sharing skills and time: Charities like Reach Volunteering connect skilled professionals with organisations who need help with things like marketing, governance or digital transformation. Even a few hours a month can go a long way.

• Providing space: Groups like The Trussell Trust, who run food banks across the country, often need places to host events, store donations or hold team meetings. If your business has the space, that can be invaluable.

• Amplifying their voice: Raising awareness is powerful. Whether it’s sharing their story on social media, inviting them to speak at your workplace or including them in your newsletters, platforms matter.

• Fundraising with purpose: Regular donations – even small ones – help charities plan. Organisations like Centrepoint, who support homeless young people, rely on predictable funding to deliver housing and support at scale.

  
  

• Creating opportunities: Collaborations that open doors – to work experience, employment, mentorship – can be genuinely life-changing. Charities like Working Chance, who support women with convictions into employment, are doing brilliant work in this space.

How we do it at Projects

We believe in being rooted in our local communities – not just through words, but action. Each of our locations partners with a local charity, chosen by our teams to reflect the needs of the area.

• Ship Street supports Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline, a lifeline for LGBTQ+ people across the UK. Together, we’ve run fundraising events, awareness campaigns and created spaces for open dialogue and support.

• Nile House partners with YMCA DownsLink Group, who work across Sussex and Surrey to support young people facing homelessness, poor mental health and other challenges. We’ve supported through donations, community introductions and exploring opportunities for employment and mentorship.

We try to start with the question: What do you actually need? And we go from there.

Recently, our Managing Director, Alex Young, spoke at an event addressing the challenges facing the city of Brighton and Hove. She touched on how the city's homelessness problem is worsening and emphasised that it is our responsibility as a business community to support the incredible work being done by charities focusing on this sector. 

Following the event, Alex was introduced to Judith Bradshaw, who heads up the BHT Sussex Work Placement Programme.

Judith and Alex are now working together to bring the Work Placement Programme to Projects, both as an employer and as a hub for other purpose-driven businesses in the community.

We reached out to Judith to explain more about the important work BHT Sussex are doing:

"Our motto at the BHT Sussex Work Placement Programme is ‘Create Opportunity, Change a Life’. People with a history of homelessness or insecure housing can find it difficult to maintain or find their way back into work, despite often having a good work history. We, along with the businesses we partner with, believe that with the right opportunity and the right support, people can return to meaningful work. In doing so, they regain a positive sense of self, which is so often lost when homeless.

We are indebted to the businesses that offer placements. The immense value of what they do is hopefully reflected in the feedback participants give, such as:

“I like to give something back. Working here makes me feel better about myself.”

“I learnt lots of things. I am sure I can get work in this sector now.”

“It has given me confidence. When I started, I didn’t know if I could do it.”

“I learnt about professionalism in the workplace, and I found I was able to let my voice be heard.”

We are excited to be developing this relationship and will keep you all posted on how it evolves. If you would like to learn more about BHT Sussex and the brilliant work they do, you can visit their website here.

Let’s do better, together

The relationship between business and charity doesn’t need to be transactional. At its best, it’s a genuine collaboration. When we stop and ask, listen and adapt, we find more meaningful ways to contribute – ways that fit the real needs of the people doing the work on the ground.

We’re still learning, but we’re committed to doing better. If you're a member of Projects, or a local business wondering how to get started, come and have a chat. Let’s share ideas, stories and create something worthwhile together.

Better business begins here – and it begins with community.