A fast-growing tech company has become one of the first in the UK to adopt a charitable giving initiative popular in Silicon Valley.
Manchester-based intelligence specialist ResponseTap is spearheading the charitable 111 programme in the UK, pledging one per cent of employee time and giving away one per cent of their product to charity every year.
Its founders have also committed to donate one per cent of their equity to charities of their choosing once they exit the business.
ResponseTap’s co-founder Ross Fobian explains: “We genuinely believe it’s important to exist for reasons beyond commercial gain, so every year we support a nominated charity.
“Corporate philanthropy is in our DNA. But a company of our size can do better than a couple of thousand pounds per annum.
“We were particularly drawn to the 111 model because it allows us to help lots of different charities, rather than a single organisation each year which may not be close to all our employees’ hearts.
“This is a fantastic way to increase the support we provide, whilst keeping it personal.”
The first organisation to benefit from a share of the £75,000 product donation is Shelter.
With ResponseTap’s technology in place, the team have been able to develop a deeper insight into the journey of those they are trying to help and the online and offline touchpoints they’ve connected with before calling for much-needed advice.
This helps tailor future activities and heightens the effectiveness of the help the charity gives, which can often be the difference between someone keeping their home and losing it.
The donation will also save the charity money, giving them more budget to spend on other activities.
The one per cent donation of time will allow employees to each pledge 2.5 days, per year, to a charity of their choice. With over 80 employees this equates to over a year of time on a £50k salary.
The time can be used to volunteer for a local community initiative, for instance, or could alternatively involve the delivery of pro bono support for charities that could benefit from staff skill-sets, like marketing or data science projects.
Set up as a formal division within the business, the 111 scheme has its own sales and marketing strategy, project leads and management objectives.
ResponseTap is the UK’s market leader in call intelligence, and the largest premium provider in Europe.
Established in 2008, the company today supports more than 2000 clients worldwide, including British Gas, Aviva, Mercedes Benz, and Virgin.