Company giving
There are many ways your company can become involved in SolarAid:
1. Employee fundraising
You can set up a payroll giving scheme for staff and encourage staff to do sponsored events. SolarAid can assist with this.
2. Donate to the SolarAid development fund
SolarAid has set up a Development Fund to which companies can give. Any amount is appreciated, from small to large donations. The Development Fund will allow SolarAid to have money readily available for where need is the most pressing.
3. Volunteering
You can set up a volunteer scheme for staff to support SolarAid (we can help you set up an Employer-Supported Volunteering Scheme); you can also encourage secondments and sabbaticals for SolarAid's work overseas. You can advertise for volunteers in your company or organisation by downloading this volunteers ad poster, printing it and displaying it.
4. Charity of the year
Make SolarAid your company's charity of the year, with a special joint event to raise funds for SolarAid, an award, etc.
5. Gifts in kind
We need PV panels, batteries, inverters, solar glass, etc, for our project work overseas, which you could donate to us from your surplus materials.
6. Carbon partnership scheme
SolarAid is running a carbon partnership scheme so that solar companies can offset their carbon by giving to our partner solar projects in developing countries as part of a comprehensive approach to lowering carbon emissions. We have developed a carbon offsetting methodology and are in the process of obtaining official Gold Standard approval.
The example of solarcentury
Solarcentury, which was the key company behind the setting up of SolarAid, has carried out many of the above actions. It donated 5% of its operating profit to SolarAid in 2006 (£35,000), has encouraged its staff to volunteer for the organisation (with the Head of Project Management taking a sabbatical to go to Malawi to implement SolarAid's first project), has set up a payroll giving scheme, and has made SolarAid its charity of choice.
This has strengthened Solarcentury's brand, boosted staff motivation, and shown that the company is putting its money and resources where its mouth is. Your company can do the same!
To contact SolarAid
If you'd like to find out more, arrange a meeting with us, or ask us to present SolarAid to your staff, please contact:
Nick Sireau
Director
SolarAid
nick@solar-aid.org
0845 094 3728 (landline)
0788 670 9633 (mobile)
