Involvement of interested parties

1. Fundraising was to be organized on a local group basis, much as for Community Alarms. Local committees were set up, using local authority support involving interested parties such as crime and fire prevention groups. Influential and high profile personalities from the localities were also sought. Money raised in the area would be spent in the same patch. The money began to come in. The number of Home Safety local committees grew – the Help the Aged Regional Committee movement was underway.

2. It was the final section of the campaign which began to cause problems as the plan developed – how to identify and then train suitable installers of the home safety kits? The team, naturally, had to be totally trustworthy. As the local groups became fired by their fundraising successes, the amount of time the installers would have to give up to do the fitting also grew. Help the Aged had a problem.

3. Just at that time Eastern Electricity was looking for a suitable partner. It was moving from the old style of sport sponsorship to the more appropriate, potentially more fruitful area of community work. It wished to focus its efforts on issues that mattered in its community; young and old people, disadvantaged folk, the environment. Eastern was seeking tangible involvement, not just a cash inject. It wanted to be actively involved in improving things for real people in their area.

4. A partnership was formed between Eastern Electricity and Help the Aged. In a formal contract commercial sponsorship was agreed. Clear guidelines and responsibilities were set out together with specific targets. Expertise and resources were identified in the two organizations. Targets, attainable, measurable and time-bounded were set down formally.

5. Eastern and Help the Aged began to work together in a client/agency relationship, both benefiting from a collective use of skills. There was shared decision making and an open approach to issues. If one organization should suffer from adverse PR it was agreed that they should provide the partner with a full open briefing with the utmost speed. Trust was established, skills shared and individual strengths played to, decisions were made and acted upon – it was a business relationship.

6. Help the Aged benefited from the money provided by Eastern in the sponsorship deal and because of its fundraising skills made more of it. It helped to raise awareness of the Charity, to attract media coverage, to contact opinion formers and attract potential new sponsors. Most of all it offered the Charity access to the systems of a large company and its resources.

7. Eastern benefited from the employee involvement in a worthwhile tangible community care project. Staff who trained the installers had satisfying contact with real people in their community. They came into contact with other parts of their own business, their personal development was enhanced. There were letters of thanks from hitherto unknown customers.