Here at LandAid we regularly see the positive social change that can be created in communities through businesses offering free support to inspirational causes, and our pro bono programme exists to connect committed businesses with high impact projects.
We both celebrate and appreciate those in the industry who are already doing good.
But there is still scope for much more.
LandAid is the property industry charity. We aim to unite the industry to achieve our mission of ending youth homelessness.
We do this in two main ways…
● Grant making – forming a link between donors and charities in need,
● Pro bono support – matching charitable requests with offers of free professional support in the form of advice, services, and materials.
At LandAid we work with a wide range of property professionals to support charitable causes right across the UK.
Matching projects in the right way is very important. We work proactively with all parties involved to develop projects that are impactful for beneficiaries and suitable to business’ specific expertise and interests. We work hard to develop our networks across the UK. Pro bono works best when it is local, connecting property professionals with compelling causes and making a positive impact in the communities where they live and work. Such care means that all businesses and charities involved can form close positive working relationships, enabling the best chance for success.
Getting involved in pro bono work of course has tangible impacts for the charitable cause you’re supporting, but there are also commercial benefits for your business too.
1. Strengthening tender responses – public sector procurers and larger private employers are placing greater importance on social value work when assessing tenders and adding companies to their preferred supplier lists.
2. Building your brand – there’s the potential for local and national PR exposure, including through LandAid’s media relationships, helping you to grow and solidify your brand image.
3. Finding, training and retaining talent – a company’s social and environmental commitments are now a priority for many professionals and a big factor when choosing where they want to work and develop.
4. Providing networking opportunities – the work gives you an opportunity to network and collaborate with like-minded professionals and potential clients.
“It really is the case that doing good can boost your business. It contributes towards professional growth, enhances your network and can help to convert new relationships into additional clients and increase revenues.”John Mindham, Programmes & Impact Manager
We appreciate the importance of senior leader buy-in when developing a business’ pro bono policies. Communicating the commercial benefits internally, tracking the social and business impact of pro bono work and giving team members agency to get involved in pro bono projects are all vital to long-term success. LandAid works closely with businesses to help in all of these areas. We collect relevant and usable impact and satisfaction data from both the recipients of your support and the team members doing the work.
Cushman & Wakefield have been big supporters of the LandAid pro bono programme. Through their journey to embed pro bono in their business, they have been working to centralise how they select opportunities which align with their goals and business capacity.
Candice Matthews, COO at Cushman & Wakefield UK explains how they’ve “made the decision to do this on a very targeted basis – picking out a handful of opportunities from LandAid’s emails which come in each month where we know we have the coverage and the capability to fulfil those requirements.”
Register your interest in LandAid’s pro bono programme here.
This will mean that you’ll be notified monthly about available projects and can offer support for any that match your interests and expertise. You’ll also be added to invites to our bi-monthly business partner meetings, where we share best practice, hear from recipients and providers of pro bono support and work together to generate leads for unmatched projects.
Learn more by watching our webinar
In a recent webinar, we partnered with LandTech and Cushman & Wakefield UK, where we discussed how getting involved in pro bono work can not only be good for the soul, but good for business too.
Find out loads more tips for getting started with pro bono work and how it really can boost your business in the on-demand version of the webinar available here.
