Sports Academy Concept Shows Value of Proactive Sponsorship Programme
Wednesday 26th January 2011
Companies have only a finite resource to devote to community activity and to meet its corporate social responsibility (CSR) objectives. Deciding how to spend that funding most effectively is a key decision, particularly for smaller niche providers.
One of our priorities as a Jersey company is to invest in the young people of the Island with the intention of helping them to improve their skills and talents. Our sponsorship policy is not solely about the signing of a cheque but extends to our seeking to participate actively and where it is helpful, making available business skills to assist with the development of the project concerned.
Accessible
It is also our view that success should not be limited to a minority so when we embark on a sports sponsorship programme, we prefer our funding to help a sport which can be accessible to as many young people as possible. It was for this reason that we took the decision in 2004 to earmark a major proportion of our sponsorship budget to support the development of the youth academy at The Jersey Rugby Club. We were actively involved in supporting this initiative throughout, working closely with the administrators and with a number of the other sponsors. In fact one of the important features of our support was to encourage the Rugby Academy to seek other businesses to join as co-sponsors.
In a two year period the number of young people attending the Academy increased dramatically from just over 250 to nearly 450, and it was apparent that standards of performance were improving with several of the Academy squads enjoying success in tournaments outside of Jersey. We remained the principal sponsor of the Academy for more than five years and we have been thrilled with the progress of the Academy in that time.
Cycling
We believe that the business community partnership that developed the Academy concept is one which reaches to the heart of a corporate social responsibility strategy and we believe it can be replicated elsewhere. Therefore we are delighted to now be in partnership with the Jersey Cycling Association to introduce a similar Academy scheme.
The Jersey Cycling Association Youth Academy (JCAYA) has been established to help more young people excel at the sport but also to encourage greater participation in a pastime which fosters a healthy lifestyle. The two main cycling clubs, Velo Sport Jersey and the Caesarean Cycling Club, working under the Jersey Cycling Association banner, have come together to create the Academy. The clubs have the enthusiasm, expertise and commitment of its members and we are hoping our support will help provide the additional impetus needed to enable the successful development of cycling with the same success that our funding of the Rugby Academy enabled the development of youth rugby.
Throughout the company we have adopted this philosophy both in supporting our own people when they join us, and through our willingness to support the endeavours of young people active in the community.
We also wanted our sponsorship budget to extend to young people who have endured hardships in the Island and need a helping hand. Thus for the company, another important cause is the Jersey Association of Youth and Friendship (JAYF) which provides sheltered and secure accommodation for vulnerable young people on the Island.
Our sponsorship enables the JAYF to stage two major fund raising events each year, the Open Gardens series that takes place each summer and the annual Sponsored Ride. Again we know from the feedback from the Open Gardens organisers that our investment has played its part in increasing the numbers who attend the gardens on a Sunday afternoon, and which in turn increases the funding available to the charity. The success of the Open Garden series also relies upon the generosity of homeowners willing to open their magnificent gardens to the public. It’s a fine example of how individuals can work with a charitable organisation and a business to do some good for the community.
Of course while these are our major community projects, we do support other causes through the willingness and efforts of our people. Staff will regularly participate in fund raising initiatives in the office which will enable us to make small donations to charitable causes, particularly those which may be close to employees.
Overseas focus
We take the view that funding has to be devoted to a small number of important projects in the local community otherwise the impact will be diminished if we try to support too many causes. We also have to be mindful of where in the world we generate our business, and as Japan is an important market for us, we have also invested time and resources in our sponsorship in Tokyo.
We are the only Jersey company to be a Premier Corporate Partner of the London Symphony Orchestra. When the LSO perform in the Suntory Hall in Tokyo in December, Moore will be a co sponsor of the event and we will use this high profile occasion to thank clients, business partners and our people in Tokyo.
This association with the LSO in Japan is important to what happens in Jersey also. Our high profile sponsorship in Tokyo helps Moore to demonstrate its commitment within the market in Japan which in turn assists us when we seek to secure additional business from investment clients in Japan. Success in winning new business in Japan of course provides opportunities for our core services to be delivered from our corporate base in Jersey.
Local commitment
Overall Moore remains a local business with a commitment to support the Island community in ways that it can. Our employees encourage us to take a lead in the organisations we support and we believe that a forward thinking partnership approach is one which is the most effective in making a contribution to the community in which we live and work.
By Kevin Gilley, managing director of the Moore Group
PR-260111.pdf