November 2017

The co-ops What behind are co-ops the British doing brands...
in their communities?
Co-ops take part in a number of initiatives to give back to communities, whether it’s
through community dividend cards, grants awarded by local members or volunteer hours
from employees. Here, we highlight some of the initiatives where co-ops are taking part …
q Para athletes Olivia
Breen and Toby Gold
help to launch the Co-op
Group’s partnership
with Parkrun. One of the
Group’s many community
involvements, the
partnership with the
running organisation
is designed to promote
healthy eating and
wellbeing
Central England
Awards from its Community Dividend Fund,
alongside donations to charities are how Central
England connects with its communities.
Community groups can apply for up to £5,000
from the fund, though the average grant is £2,000.
Last year, £220,000 was granted to local causes
through the scheme. From funds raised by the
5p levy on carrier bags, the society bought over
150 defibrillators to position outside stores.
Additionally, the society supported 185
in-store food banks, 50 educational classes
for members, assisted bereaved parents with
its Rainbow children’s funeral services and
educated schoolchildren on food with its Healthy
Choices Workshops.
Chelmsford Star
The Community Card scheme now supports 345
local community groups. Launched in July 1999,
the scheme allows groups to apply for cards to
distribute among supporters.
When supporters shop in stores, they swipe the
card and send 1p for every £1 spent to the group.
During the year, 103 groups withdrew funds from
their account to the value of £7,088, this compares
to 80 groups last year withdrawing £6,700.
Funds have been used for varying projects
including Danbury Park raising £600 towards new
tablet computers, St Johns Primary School raising
£500 for a new kitchen garden to teach children
about growing and cooking food, while Kings Road
Primary School raised £427 for local projects and
Blackmore Sports & Social Group raised £150 for
Christmas preparations.
Co-operative Group
During 2016, the Group started a number of
community engagement trials to find the most
effect way to connect with members.
It found that Member Pioneers were a real
asset in helping the society to connect with other
members, colleagues and local communities. This
member-led approach is being rolled out during
2017 by recruiting more Pioneers and improving
the training, support and tools provided.
The investment in community activities in 2016
led to a total investment of £10.8m. In 2017’s annual
report, the Group said it will reveal the full extent
of its distributions to member groups through its
Local Community Fund. When members shop
in stores, 1% of what they spend on own-brand
products and services goes to local groups.
It said it has accrued approximately £2.1m for the
fund, which will be distributed throughout 2017.
In addition, an extra £7m will also be distributed
through the fund from the carrier bag levy. It has
also said it aims to give back at least £20m a year
to local causes through the fund by the end of 2018.
Fundraising for the British Red Cross saw £4.5m
raised across thousands of activities, ranging from
car washes and raffles to bake sales and bike rides.
East of England
The Community Token Scheme allows members
to support to a variety of local causes, from parent
and toddler groups to local hospices.
Since the scheme started 18 months ago, the
society supported 540 local causes with £180,000
worth of donations. At the till, members are given
a token to put in one of three boxes championing a
30 | NOVEMBER 2017