Oldham charities invited to sign up for free volunteering and donation platform

Investors in Community has warned that the charity sector requires an additional £5 billion government investment to survive the first half of 2021

A charitable giving organisation is inviting Oldham-based charities and organisations to sign up to its free platform which links good causes with companies and fundraisers.

Investors in Community, which works with local charities including Safe and Free, has warned that the charity sector requires an additional £5 billion government investment to survive the first half of 2021 and is encouraging charities to join its platform to benefit from corporate and individual donations.

The platform, which incurs no charges for charities and community groups, acts as a national marketplace for charity and not for profit organisations to promote their good causes and attract financial and volunteering support from individuals or businesses.

It is the only platform of its type to offer all five methods of giving to charity: donating, fundraising, gifts in kind, volunteering and skilled volunteering (pro bono).

Philip Webb, managing director of Investors in Community, explained why he was inviting Oldham charities to join the platform.

He said: “The last year has placed a great strain on charities and many will be looking ahead to the coming months with apprehension.

"Good causes across Oldham have suffered from a significant reduction in income while also seeing increases in demand for their services so it is vital that they can benefit from the support of local businesses.

“We know that measuring the impact of social value activity is hugely important to businesses in the region and we are proud to offer our platform to charities for free so they can make the most of the outstanding work that goes on in so many companies.”

Over the course of 2020, Investors in Community saw a 50 per cent rise in the number of businesses using the platform and the number of individuals signed up to help good causes more than double.

Mr Webb added that he hoped charities would take advantage of the support from the commercial sector.

He said: “We work with charities and community projects of all sizes and this means that every individual or business will be able to find a good cause that is important to them.

"Despite the difficulties we have seen this year, there is a huge amount of goodwill available to charities and a huge number of people will be looking for a way to donate time or money to good causes.”

For more information about Investors in Community, visit: www.investorsincommunity.org

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