Sector Connector is an initiative that links companies with volunteering opportunities within the VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) sector with the aim of getting things done and supporting community action.
Matching what businesses want to, and can, offer with what the VCSE needs is key. These opportunities might already be listed on our brokerage system, or they could be more tailored such as a payroll expert offering their professional skills to help a VCSE organisation manage its payroll system.
It’s important to find common ground and shared values between people and organisations that often have very different objectives, outlooks and ways of working. Sector Connector provides a bridge between the business and VCSE sectors.
Sector Connector’s brokerage model supports the sharing of skills, time and other resources between businesses and VCSE organisations. Its greatest strengths are that it is run at a local level, embraces a wide range of support interventions and is based upon bringing people together. This means that businesses do not have to spend their time and resources trying to find a voluntary organisation that would benefit from their help. Businesses that have signed up to Sector Connector will be listed on the NCVA website and gain publicity for their contribution. There is a growing importance for companies to ramp up their focus on social responsibility as a way of giving back to society and thank customers for their loyalty and Sector Connector supports this by enabling businesses to sign up with confidence and ease.
The benefits of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are:
- Helping businesses attract and retain employees
- Attracting more talent by being a business that is committed to improving the world
- Fostering a more productive and positive work environment for employees
- Improving the well-being of employees
- Improving customers’ perception of a business
- Helping to build a good reputation earning trust and loyalty from clients
- Having a positive effect on profits, as customers are often willing to pay more for products from a socially responsible brand
- Engaging directly with members of society, who may also be customers or potential customers, thus informing product development
- Adding social value – increasingly public sector agencies and larger businesses are expecting that contractors and businesses in their supply chain must demonstrate this
- Supporting local communities – post Covid there is an expectation that businesses will support voluntary organisations who work for the good of their local community
- Contributing to the area by ‘giving back’ through volunteering or community action
- Winning contracts – social value is being included in the design of procurement through selection and award criteria and effective contract management
- Building a portfolio of positive endorsements – VCSE organisations are more likely to do business with suppliers they know and trust in their community
- Placing the business at the heart of the community
- Upskilling the workforce
- Being part of good news stories that benefit the local community
If you are interested in signing up to Sector Connector, or would like to know more, please contact Julie Cordon: Julie.cordon@northumberlandcva.org.uk Mobile: 07425460019