Communities
UBM recognises the importance of its relationship with the communities in which it operates, and aims to support and encourage charitable activities of various kinds. With the involvement of our employees UBM supports charities and not-for-profit organisations around the globe; from smaller grassroots donations, to large long-term international projects where employees can really see UBM’s money making a difference; from volunteer project support to donations in kind, tapping into the wealth of expertise of our employees and supporting their energy and enthusiasm in their charitable works. During 2007 we continued to develop our charitable donations policy. This is administered by a central charity committee which allocates funds to each division to be expended in line with established guidelines. As a media and information group, UBM particularly supports projects which promote education and literacy, and media and communications.
Whilst UBM is keen to maintain this important legacy we are also eager to assist in relieving poverty and homelessness, and promoting healthcare both in the markets we operate and in society more widely. The development of our ‘offshoring’ activity has opened up exciting opportunities to engage with local communities in wider geographies, most notably in India. Within the policy guidelines our businesses, through consultation with employees, are encouraged to nominate causes they feel it appropriate to assist, thus enabling employees to gain recognition and support for the causes that are important to them. As well as supporting not-for-profit activities at a local level, donations are also made from a central fund to support major projects, often with long-term funding and resource commitments. The following are just examples of some of our larger projects:
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Over the past three years UBM has donated £150,000 to an Oxfam education programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), renovating four schools in the poorest areas of Mbandaka and Kinshasa, and facilitating the training of 25 teachers. Over 3,000 pupils, 49 teachers and 52 parent committees at these schools are now directly benefiting from this project. Further details can be found at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/companies/ubm.html
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In 2007 UBM donated £50,000 to CARE International UK for their Girls’ Education Programme (‘GEP’) in India, which aims to provide improved primary education to 40,000 girls from marginalised communities of Uttar Pradesh, between six and 16 years old, by 2010. UBM’s donation has been directed towards primary schools in two districts of Uttar Pradesh, allowing CARE to carry out teacher training and ongoing support for 145 primary schools and have provided library books resulting in 80% of schools in the area having a regularly used library.
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UBM has provided funding for a communications programme for Samraksha, an Indian charity which tackles issues related to HIV/Aids education;
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In Romania UBM donated £10,000 for the building of a respite care home for Agents of Change, which provides healthcare and rehabilitation for handicapped and disabled people; UBM has committed £150,000 to Basic Needs (www.basicneeds.org) to develop a knowledge database for mental health, which in time it is hoped will create a model for treatment of mental health.
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During 2007 CMP Asia began a project to construct a Primary School in Meixi Village, one of the poorest villages in Yangbi, China, which will provide a safe learning environment for the students and teachers. The project is ongoing and is expect to be completed during summer 2008.
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Commonwealth Business Media donated US$25,000 to Reading Is Fundamental, which prepares and motivates children to read by delivering free books and literacy resources to those children and families who need them most. The partnership with RIF has also opened up volunteer opportunities for all its employees.
During 2007 employees at PR Newswire voted on which charities they wished to support. Future donations will now be allocated depending on the level of volunteer work undertaken by PR Newswire staff. PR Newswire also operates a Volunteer scheme whereby employees may take time off each year, with pay, to devote to the cause of their choice, such as the Cleveland Boys & Girls club and the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital.
In the US, UBM LLC operates a nationally recognised volunteer programme, Community Connection, which has long standing, established partnerships with around 70 not-for-profit organisations, and supports over 260 not-for-profit organisations through grants. The increase in the level of donations being recommended for organisations in developing countries such as India and China reflects the expansion of UBM’s businesses into the developing world. Employees at CMPi, who are engaged on an offshoring initiative, have already established a strong relationship with Manavya Orphanage in Pune, India, which has benefited from their continuing support. UBM also operates a payroll giving scheme in the UK, whereby regular donations by employees are matched by their employer; and a separate matched giving scheme through which fundraising efforts by UBM’s employees are matched on a one-off basis.
In 2007 £543,372 was donated to over 80 charities recommended by employees around UBM; this represents cash donations only and does not include pledges of future funding nor donations in kind such as employees’ time nor used computer equipment. During 2008 our aim is to standardise and expand our employee volunteering programme to ensure that as many employees as possible have the opportunity to participate in community efforts, and to enable us to evaluate more accurately the financial contribution that such efforts represent .
Many of UBM’s businesses have initiatives in place to make their products and services more accessible to the voluntary sector. PR Newswire has expanded its specialist services for NGOs and not-for-profit agencies and, in times of crisis, PR Newswire has sometimes rendered its services free of charge, for example, during the 2007 California wildfires. In the UK PR Newswire has developed a link with www.askcharity.org.uk which seeks to improve charities’ access to the media.
In 2007 the CMPi Leadership Development Programme (LDP) worked with four UK charities – The Bridge Trust in Tonbridge, The Aquarius Community Centre in Manchester, CRASH in London and Thames Hospice Care in Ascot – whereby four groups of four participants worked on projects which took three months to complete. CMPi gave each group time off work to complete the projects, giving the participants the opportunity to bring business and commercial skills to help the charities concerned, helping to bring structure and support to allow them to continue the vital work that they do. During early 2008 the LDP will be culminating in the 15 participants travelling to Brazil to lead projects with four NGOs. The five groups of three senior CMPi Managers each will be spending eight days with each of the NGOs. The projects range from introducing financial and communication structures, to helping to build a centre for Doutores da Alegria (The Doctors of Joy) in the heart of São Paulo, to alleviate some of the suffering of terminally ill children and to bring a humanising element into hospital care. During 2008 we will continue to investigate the possibility of similar opportunities for co-operation with the voluntary sector.
