Communities

The Group actively supports charities and community groups through direct giving and employee fundraising. Investment in community activities benefits the groups and communities we support, but also benefits us; engaging colleagues and supporting the reputation of the Group in our communities and amongst stakeholders more broadly.

We channel the incredible fundraising efforts of our colleagues and customers into large-scale charity partnerships and, for the first time this year, brought Argos and Homebase together in support of a two-year Group partnership with the British Heart Foundation and Heart Children Ireland.

Despite the gloom of recession, total donations from colleagues and customers this year were ahead of last year at £1.8m. Through their fundraising activities, our colleagues have raised over £1.3m for our charity partners (£752,000 of which was raised for our new Group charity partners only eight months into the partnership). A further £85,000 has been given by Argos customers through our ‘Tick to Give’ scheme, where customers can tick a box on their selection slip to make a donation. On top of this, 13% of the Group’s employees donate to charities of their choice through payroll, contributing over £350,000 this year and taking the total to £1.8m.

The total value of the Group’s charitable giving for 2008/09 was £926,000 (2007/08: £1,397,000). This giving has supported local and national projects with an education or environmental theme and charities that address the needs of homes and families. The reduced level of giving this year was primarily due to the closure of the GUS Trust Fund (2007/08: £450,000), but also as a result of the scaling back of this budget in line with other costs in the Group. We strive to maximise the impact of our direct giving by identifying projects where our contribution acts as leverage for charities to attract additional cash and resources from third parties. For example, our support of Marie Curie’s Blooming Great Daffodil appeal and our investment in their Mini Pots of Care initiative has enabled a further £750,000 to be raised for the charity. In 2008 Home Retail Group led the way in the retail sector in securing this additional source of investment, as measured by the London Benchmarking Group.

We have supported the development of a Samaritans text message (SMS) service. We are funding the development of Disabled Living Foundation’s ‘Living Made Easy’ website, providing practical advice on daily living equipment for people with disabilities. In Milton Keynes, working with the Youth Housing Network, we have funded a theatre workshop worker who has set up a theatre group for young people affected by homelessness. Our ‘community cashback’ scheme recognises and supports the efforts of our colleagues by contributing up to £1,000 to the funds raised by individual colleagues, for the charities of their choice.

Our community partnerships and investments are managed by our Group community affairs manager. Charitable donations are overseen by the Home Retail Group Partnership Fund, governed by a committee comprising of senior management, and an external appointee.