Case Study of a Corporate Partner

The Macquarie Group Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Macquarie Group, an Australian investment bank with offices based in London.

In 2009, an employee from Macquarie Group began mentoring at the ReachOut Academy. He encouraged his colleagues to volunteer as well which kick-started an exciting partnership between our organisations.

In 2012 the Macquarie Group Foundation began funding the ReachOut Junior Mentors project. The benefits over the past 5 years have gone far beyond the financial support and in 2014 we were shortlisted for a Charity Times Award in recognition of the fruitful ReachOut-Macquarie partnership.

ReachOut young people at a recent workshop to Macquarie.

Funding - The Foundation has donated £105,000 since 2012 towards the ReachOut Junior Mentors programme, enabling us to expand our delivery from Manchester to London.

Staff fundraising events - Macquarie Group staff raised an additional £6910 through running in the London Marathon and Hackney Half Marathon, and organising “Keepy Uppy” and “Rowathon” events during Foundation Week.

Pro-bono support - The IT team volunteered over 100 hours developing our office IT infrastructure, providing additional hardware, improving our website and offering on-going IT support, saving ReachOut £12,000 this year. In addition the Corporate Communications Executive provides ad-hoc advice and support in PR.

Volunteering with young people - Every Wednesday evening the Foundation organises taxis to Hackney to enable employees to volunteer weekly as mentors to our young people.

Staff also give up time during their day to run workshops at their offices where young people learn about the organisation and gain new skills, such as coding and presenting, through fun and engaging activities.

Event, Training and Meeting Room Space -Macquarie Group has hosted our Impact Report Launch for the past two years and provides space where we can hold inter-office meetings and training sessions for ReachOut staff and volunteers.

The on-going support that we receive is invaluable, but it’s good to know the benefits of the partnership are not just one-way:

“ReachOut’s programme gives our staff the chance to contribute to the local community teaching academic skills and character to young people. In addition, teaching character has a knock on effect on the mentors who develop communication skills and staying power through volunteering on the project.” Rachel Engel, Vice President, Macquarie Group Foundation

“I have learnt to connect with a greater range of people which has helped me when dealing with different personalities at work. ReachOut has also taught me ways to motivate individuals and to communicate effectively with them. At first, there were occasions where I felt out of my comfort zone but these turned out to be times where I was gaining new life experiences.” Jamie Broom, Client Onboarding Senior Manager at Macquarie Group and volunteer mentor at the ReachOut Academy

Jamie Broom volunteering at a ReachOut workshop at the Macquarie Group office.

Thank you to everyone at Macquarie Group for their on-going support.

This case study featured in our recently released Impact Report for 2013/14. Click here to read the report or to hear what our inspirational speakers had to say about ReachOut at the Launch event click here.