Impact

The following impact assessments provide an analysis of a number of CIS’ and The Co-operative Bank’s key associations and affinity relationships.

The assessments have been undertaken using a template created by the London Benchmarking Group (LBG) – a collection of organisations that seek to manage, measure and report on their involvement in the community. The LBG approach looks to assess community programmes in terms of what they actually achieve, whether it be the ‘leverage’ a community group has been able to exert through the business association; the benefit experienced by the business; or the direct benefit to the community that results from the business support.

Addaction

Addaction is a leading UK charity working solely in the field of drug and alcohol treatment. Founded in 1967, it has over 50 projects within communities and prisons and works with clients from all backgrounds and of all ages.

CIS has supported Addaction’s work since 2000, initially funding diversionary activities in the East Midlands. CIS continues to provide funding for this work – typically the money is used to help recovering addicts obtain basic necessities and clothing, especially when they take up employment.

In 2002, CIS increased its support by agreeing to meet the salary and associated costs for a full-time Development Manager in the North of England: the primary aim being to help Addaction expand its services outside its traditional focus area in the South East. CIS also provided rent-free office accommodation in central Manchester, giving Addaction a local presence – an important indicator of the organisation’s commitment to developing its operations in the North of England. Over the last two years, Addaction’s work - both nationally and in the North of England - has grown substantially: in the latter, over £4 million of additional funding has been secured for a wide range of projects and programmes. None of this expansion would have occurred without CIS’ initial and ongoing support.

In addition, CIS has worked with Addaction to communicate with parents and other interested parties on drugs and related issues, through the publication of The Parents Guide to Drugs (CIS met all the printing costs). Tens of thousands of copies of this pamphlet have been sent to individual parents, schools, police forces and other organisations and agencies dealing with drugs and their aftermath. The guide has also been distributed through the 300-strong network of the Co-operative Group’s pharmacies.

Follow this link for an impact assessment of CIS’ support for Addaction

Amnesty International

Amnesty International is a worldwide voluntary movement of people who campaign for human rights. It is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. Its vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

Since it was set up in 1961, Amnesty International has campaigned for around 50,000 prisoners of conscience and other individuals around the world whose lives are at risk due to human rights abuses. It has helped save thousands of lives by stopping torture, preventing executions and protecting human rights defenders. Cases include: Tibetan monks and nuns imprisoned and ill-treated by Chinese authorities; trade unionists receiving death threats in Colombia; individuals sentenced to death in the USA for crimes committed when they were children; the detention without trial and torture of citizens in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

At the same time, its campaigns on issues such as the arms trade, the prevention of torture and the establishment of the International Criminal Court have acted as a catalyst for public opinion in the UK and abroad and brought pressure to bear on national and international governments and institutions.

Since 1993, The Co-operative Bank has provided Amnesty with an affinity Visa credit card to market to its supporters. In addition to an initial payment when the card is issued and a further payment after 6 months if the card remains active, The Co-operative Bank pays Amnesty 25p for every £100 spent on the card. CFS is also providing direct financial support for the creation of the Human Rights Action Centre in London, which will give Amnesty vastly improved facilities for its work and increase its ability to provide training to its members and information to the general public, including school children, on its campaigns and activities.

Follow this link for an impact assessment of the bank’s support for Amnesty International

Fund for Black & Minority Ethnic Community Projects

The bank set up the fund with the Community Foundation for Greater Manchester (CFGM) in 2002, to provide dedicated funding for black and minority ethnic (BME) community groups. Bank research had shown that BME groups had made few applications through the established community donation channel.

Grants of up to £10,000 are available to groups needing organisational support and development to enable them to work towards a more sustainable future, or for those requiring more strategic or core funding.

During 2003, grants were made from the fund to assist:

• a youth association to extend, and improve the accessibility of, its premises;
• a youth project, to develop the skills and knowledge of their management committee;
• a community group, to access training in order that they can develop their business plan;
• a Jamaican community group, to purchase general office equipment to furnish their new offices;
• a roller sports club, to purchase new kit and equipment;
• a youth group, to offer activities during the school holidays;
• a group that promotes well-being, to develop a mobile museum;
• a group for Asian women, to fund transport and other recreational facilities;
• a group offering complimentary therapies, to enable them to replace stolen items and continue to grow; and
• a youth group, to provide training in music, studio recording techniques and CD production.

Case study: Khelagor Youth Association

One of the organisations to benefit from funding from the BME fund in 2003 was the Khelagor Youth Association (KYA). Formed in 1994 to promote the quality of life of Bangladeshi people in Oldham who are working in, or seeking employment in, the catering industry, KYA delivers training in job search skills, interview techniques and personal development to help both groups improve their career prospects.

Partnership objective : to enable Khelagor Youth Association to extend, and improve the accessibility of, its premises. KYA sought a grant from the fund to extend its meeting/training room and construct ground floor toilet facilities and a ramp to allow better access to the building. The developments were intended to enable more people from the community to use the facility. KYA received matched funding against the £2,500 awarded from The Co-operative Bank BME fund to enable the works to be undertaken.

Follow this link for an impact assessment of the bank’s support for Khelagor Youth Association

Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester Art Gallery houses an internationally renowned collection spanning six centuries of British and continental fine and decorative art. There are currently around 25,000 items in the collection and over 2,000 of these are on display in the Gallery. The collection has been awarded Designated Status, which marks it as a pre-eminent collection of high quality and importance.

CIS is the Gallery’s largest corporate sponsor and over the last two years the relationship has prospered. Amongst the projects that CIS has supported the following are particularly worthy of note:

• The Wellwoman Outreach Project – was a collaboration involving the Gallery, Manchester Museum and the University of Manchester School of Medicine. The project focused on women from refugee and other isolated communities and sought to improve health and well-being using food, nutrition, art and culture. In addition, the project provided the participants with a network of contacts outside their immediate communities. In total, 57 women took part in the programme.
• Chinese Community Pride Project – the aim was to work with elderly members of Manchester’s Chinese community to create a work of art that expressed pride in their culture. Over six months, working with a ceramic artist, the group created a sculpture of a Dragon Boat (now on permanent display in the Gallery) that bears testimony to the rich history of ceramic art in China and acts as a metaphor for the cultural and physical journey from China to Manchester.

Follow this link for an impact assessment of CIS’ support for Manchester Art Gallery

Mind

Mind is the leading mental health charity in England and Wales. It works to create a better life for everyone with experience of mental distress by:

• advancing the views, needs and ambitions of people with mental health problems;
• challenging discrimination and promoting inclusion;
• influencing policy through campaigning and education;
• inspiring the development of quality services which reflect expressed need and diversity; and
• achieving equal rights through campaigning and education.

Mental health problems can affect anyone, rich or poor, young or old, shattering the lives of those affected and the lives of the people close to them. One in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Each year more than 250,000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals and over 4,000 people take their own lives.

Research suggests that around one in four people will experience some sort of mental health problems during their lifetime and that around £12 billion annually is lost to the economy as a result of absences and productivity shortfalls arising from schizophrenia, depression, stress and anxiety. Conversely, corporate support for charities and voluntary organisations active in this area is sparse. This is partly due to the stigma still attached to the whole area of mental health and partly to the much higher profile of other causes.

Over the last three years, CIS has helped Mind in its efforts to develop a telephone helpline (MindinfoLine) that provides a first point of contact for those affected by mental health problems either directly or indirectly. The helpline provides advice and support as well as directing callers to other areas of Mind’s work, including its specialist Legal Unit and its 209 Local Mind groups, based throughout England and Wales. In addition it acts as a bridge between the individual caller and other organisations with specialist knowledge and expertise. By directing people to the most appropriate Mind service or organisation, the helpline fulfils a role that is not replicated elsewhere. The volume of contacts (over 20,000 in 2003) suggests that it is a facility that is valued by users.

Follow this link for an impact assessment of the bank’s support for Mind

Oxfam

Oxfam was originally established in 1942 to alleviate famine in the occupied countries of Europe. Since then, Oxfam’s work and sphere of activity has grown substantially, and it now works with others to overcome poverty and suffering worldwide.

Since 1994, The Co-operative Bank has provided Oxfam with an affinity Visa credit card to market to its supporters. In addition to an initial payment that is made when the card is issued (£15), and a further payment after 6 months if the card remains active (£2.50), the bank pays Oxfam 25p for every £100 spent on the card. To give some idea of the present scale of the bank’s support, £300,000 is equivalent to Oxfam’s annual expenditure in a country such as Nepal or the total cost of the seed planting programme mentioned below.

Amongst specific projects that have benefited from the bank’s support are:

• a three year seed planting programme in Malawi to combat famine and provide farmers with a cash crop;
• improving the quality of water and sanitation in the Sudan;
• providing major educational resources in Kenya and Cambodia; and
• developing techniques for the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Rwanda.

The success of the relationship between Oxfam and the bank owes a great deal to the shared values and ethical approaches of the two organisations.

Follow this link for an impact assessment of the bank’s support for Oxfam

Whalley Range High School for Girls

Whalley Range High School for Girls has around 1,400 pupils and offers a broad academic curriculum from 11-18. The school has been recognised under the Excellence in Cities scheme, a Government initiative that has placed extra resources in schools to develop opportunities for Gifted and Talented students, support those with Barriers to Learning and encourage the innovative use of Information Technology.

CFS’ relationship with WRHS began in 2000. It developed substantially in 2002 when CIS provided £25,000 funding to support the school’s successful application for Business and Enterprise college status. The aims of the relationship are:

• to develop creative, business and entrepreneurial skills in young women at WRHS;
• to develop and embed links with the school’s wider community; and
• to encourage staff from CFS and WRHS to work together in business and social contexts.

CFS and the school work together to maximise the benefits from the relationship, and CFS’ ICT department has played a prominent role in strengthening and deepening the links between the two organisations, sharing their considerable expertise on a range of technical projects.

CFS is committed, as a minimum, to continuing its support for WRHS until 2006.

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