The HFD Charitable Foundation
Our Aims for the Foundation
To increase the impact of the HFD Charitable Foundation by supporting a wide range of charities and individuals. To engage with HFD employees and stakeholders in selecting charities and to offer matched giving. To increase awareness of the HFD Charitable Foundation through online channels and media coverage.
Working in Partnership
We recognise the importance of building our network and utilising the skills and talent available to us, in order to expand the impact of the foundation. Alongside their work at 177 Bothwell Street, FES Group offered support to help fit-out Launch Foods’ newest venture – a café on Bothwell Street that helps to fight hunger in schools.
Launch is currently feeding around 1500 children a week in 8 primary schools across Glasgow. We’ve had several HFD employees sign up to volunteer on the launch food van.
In 2020, we launched the Glasgow Community Anchor Fund in partnership with the Virgin
Money Foundation, which will set up its new HQ at 177 Bothwell Street.
We are working closely with the Virgin Money Foundation’s grant-making team to allocate
more than £700,000 towards community groups in the wider Glasgow area.
We also teamed up with the William Grant Foundation, a neighbour at Strathclyde Business Park, to give ongoing support to Voluntary Action North Lanarkshire and combined financial donations.
The HFD Charitable Foundation – 2019/2020 summary
Our first official Foundation event was the annual Gleneagles Golf Day on 21st June 2019. This provided a platform to launch the Foundation and raise brand awareness of what we were trying to achieve. The event was attended by 168 golfers and raised £58,700.
Our Burns Supper 2020, hosted by Andy Nicol, was attended by over 160 guests and raised a total of £33,560. Our most successful year yet!
During 2019 and 2020 we engaged with employees, occupiers, our professional teams and contractors and other stakeholders which resulted in us supporting a large and diverse range of charities relating to all sectors of society.
In numbers, we have supported 36 different charities, donating more than £413,160 and reaching a network of people within our local communities.
We asked employees to nominate their chosen charities, as well as providing matched giving for employee fundraising and sporting events. For example, our teams raised more than £8,000 for Parkinson’s UK by taking part in the 2020 virtual Virgin Money London Marathon by taking to the rooftop running track at our flagship development 177 Bothwell Street.
In March, trustees of the foundation refocused fundraising plans following the outbreak of Covid-19, with funds concentrated on support for local causes addressing the crisis. We have been as flexible as possible with our grant awards and any variations to allow the funds to be used for emergency purposes, helping charities to remain operational and support the people they aid.
TO 2021 & BEYOND…
What’s Next?
Our charitable foundation was set up to directly benefit local causes in Glasgow and the wider Lanarkshire area – where the majority of our
business is based – and we hope to continue to play a role in supporting the people most in need.
2020 has been a challenging time for everyone, but there are organisations and people in our local communities who need extra support now, more than ever. The continued impact of Covid-19 means that that there will be many charities looking for support just to keep their doors open.
A further £300,000 has been committed to the Glasgow Community Anchor Fund and we expect to continue building partnerships and relationships with our network and supply chains throughout 2021 and beyond.
