Funding news - 28/07/2008
“Community Matters” For Supermarket Giant
Supermarket chain Waitrose is set to donate more than £2.2 million to deserving charities over the next year.
Around 7,000 good causes are set to benefit from the firm’s Community Matters initiative, which will allocate £1,000 a month to each branch across the country, who will then split the cash between three local projects.
To be considered for a donation, good causes and charities are asked to get in touch with their local Waitrose branch. Each month, store staff then get to vote on which three applications will be funded.
Shoppers also have a part to play in the scheme. Each customer will be given a token at the checkout that they can place into a box representing their preferred good cause - the amount of money each charity receives will be in direct proportion to the number of tokens customers allocate.
The scheme was piloted in a number of stores, including at Whitney, whose branch manager Gill Armstrong said:
“'Our customers love it, and it's raised our profile locally. One of the recipients was a local group for children who are largely excluded from school. A customer who had given them a token decided to get in touch and became a regular volunteer as a result.”
Now the initiative is set to go nationwide and Tish Holland, the firm’s assistant community liaison manager, revealed:
“Community Matters has been very well received. Customers are very happy to join in, and branches are very excited about the rollout.”
All 190 Waitrose branches across Britain are expected to have a Community Matters scheme up and running by 9 September.
For more information about the scheme, visit the Waitrose website (opens a new window)
Source: Third Sector, 22/07/2008
