Most consumers think businesses should support charities – here’s why it’s a good idea

As well as helping to do good, supporting a charity can help your business in many ways. The team at St Elizabeth Hospice set out the benefits for businesses.

Recent research conducted by Forresters found that that most consumers think businesses should support charities. When faced with a choice between two companies that offered products and services for the same price, 82 % said their decision would be affected by whether a company engaged with charities and its local community.

Sponsorship is a good way of increasing brand awareness, which helps to generate consumer preference and to foster brand loyalty. A company can reinforce awareness among its target market by sponsoring an event that attracts a similar target market.

Sponsorship is not an act of charity – it must show some form of positive return on investment (ROI). A sponsor can enjoy a wide range of benefits from a carefully selected sponsorship, which can:

• raise brand awareness and create preference
• create positive PR and raise awareness of the organisation as a whole
• provide attractive content for a range of products and services
• build brand positioning through associative imagery
• support a sales promotion campaign
• create internal emotional commitment to the brand
• act as corporate hospitality that promotes good relations with clients

Companies can get involved with St Elizabeth Hospice is through sponsoring an event, activity or a dedicated area at the hospice.

Why be involved with St Elizabeth Hospice

• St Elizabeth Hospice improves life for over 2,000 people and their families, in Suffolk, each year living with progressive and terminal illnesses. Their work is centred around an individual’s needs and they provide specialist care and support, free of charge, wherever it is needed – in patients homes, in the community or at the hospice
• The running costs of St Elizabeth Hospice were £10.5m last year of which over 75% was funded through businesses and the community.

St Elizabeth Hospice is currently looking for sponsors for a range of events each targeting different audiences including: Bubble Rush, Sunflower Memories, Suffolk Remembers, Woolly Pully Week, the Christmas Day Dip and a brand new event; Extreme Ninja.

There are a range of sponsorship packages and by being involved you can:

• Demonstrate your commitment to St Elizabeth Hospice, an independent charity dedicated to transforming end of life care locally
• Create an emotional commitment to your brand and with your staff
• Be associated with popular events in Ipswich and the surrounding areas
• Access new audiences through regional coverage
• Engage audiences at the event
• Gain exposure to St Elizabeth Hospice supporters
• Join together to not let death kill life in Suffolk

To find out more about St Elizabeth Hospice and getting your business involved  – click here