Employees from FirstGroup have raised £500,000 for charities by pledging portions of their monthly salaries.
More than 1,000 colleagues from the transport operator have signed up to make tax-efficient, monthly donations to registered charities through the company’s payroll giving scheme in the UK.
The £500,000 milestone, achieved over four years, arrived just in time for #GivingTuesday, a global campaign on Tuesday 29 November that harnesses the power of social media to collect millions of pounds for good causes.
Kate Broome, Group Director of Corporate Responsibility at FirstGroup, said: “We’re hugely proud to have reached such a significant milestone through the generosity of our people. To help celebrate Giving Tuesday, we’ll be supporting colleagues across the business to do something special for charity, including promoting our payroll giving scheme.”
Employees are free to support any registered charity they wish through payroll giving. However, should they opt for FirstGroup’s charity of choice partner, Prostate Cancer UK, the company will match their first month’s donation.
The partnership between FirstGroup and Prostate Cancer UK, which began in April 2015, aims to provide more than £1m of support for the charity’s work in helping men to survive prostate cancer and enjoy a better quality of life. More than £440,000 has been achieved through the partnership to date.
James Beeby, Director of Fundraising at Prostate Cancer UK, said: “Since the beginning of the partnership in April 2015, FirstGroup employees have been an incredible support to Prostate Cancer UK. We are so grateful to those that are donating a portion of their wages to help us tackle the disease head on. Raising more than £3,600 for Prostate Cancer UK, from payroll giving alone, is incredible and is going to contribute in funding ground-breaking research that will help save men’s lives.
“The support and funding from partners like FirstGroup is crucial if we are to achieve our aim of taming prostate cancer within 10 years and stop it being a killer.”
FirstGroup works in partnership with Payroll Giving in Action to promote the scheme to employees.
Suzie Power, Corporate Development Manager at Payroll Giving in Action, said: “FirstGroup’s Payroll Giving scheme is a win for everyone: it drives employee pride; helps employees to give tax efficiently to charities of their choice; and, most importantly, is a vital source of regular and sustainable income for the hundreds of different charities who receive donations from colleagues.”