Assessing the impact in community organisations 2002
Research by BITC/MORI in Spring 2002 looked at how the business and community sectors have worked together in the past and the potential to do so in the future. The research, based on the opinions of 1,019 community partners who responded to the “Assessing the Impact” research conducted by MORI on behalf of BITC also found that business is wary of long term commitment, preferring one off support to serious engagement.
Community partners were also asked about the importance of business support:
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
| Disagree | Agree |
| Business support will become significantly more important to the not for profit sector in the next 5-10 years | 6% | 79% |
| Business support is crucial to my organisation | 18% | 55% |
Other findings were:
- Three out of four community partners believe that companies pay insufficient attention to the value that ‘we in the community sector can bring to their business’
- The main ways organisations have benefited from corporate support are financial benefit or saving, improved facilities/environment, wider network of contacts, raised profile, improved capability to help cause/audience
- Priorities for developing relationships over the next five years for community partners are: money, professional services, skills development, corporate volunteers and long term commitment.
In conclusion the research indicates:
- High expectations of business: over half of community partners say it is crucial to their organisation
- Positive impact across organisations internally, but less so on wider society
- Biggest support gaps include: long term volunteering, professional services and skills development as well as fundraising and sponsorship
Companies are not fully realising the value engagement can add to their business
