Prince’s Trust aims to help corporates increase CSR investment through Euro funding

COMPANIES targeting European funding as a way of boosting their corporate social responsibility budgets are being offered advice by The Prince’s Trust.

The youth charity, which is now keen to work with more corporate organisations, said firms could double or even treble their investment in CSR activity by leveraging grants from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Credit analyst Experian and law firm DBS Law are two of the firms working with the charity. They have already increased their budgets and have accessed Prince’s Trust programmes to develop their staff, generate positive PR and help the communities in which they operate.

Experian has also become a patron of The Prince’s Trust, supporting the charity’s Enterprise Programme, which helps young people set up in self-employment through training, mentoring and funding.

James Jones, Head of Consumer Affairs, Experian, said: “By offering our expertise in financial education and working in partnership with The Prince’s Trust – together we can encourage entrepreneurs of the future.”

DBS Law managing director, Rob Bhol, added: “We have been working with The Prince’s Trust since January 2012. Thanks to their understanding of the European Regional Development Fund, we have been able to more than double our budget for CSR.

“We have not supported The Prince’s Trust for purely charitable reasons. We’ve used the relationship we have with them and their programmes, to develop our own team. By giving our own employees the chance to get involved with various Prince’s Trust initiatives, they have grown in confidence and developed their management skills.”

Paul Taylor, senior head of private sector fundraising for the trust in the Midlands, said firms getting involved with the charity could benefit in many ways, such as a return on investment.

“We have a wealth of knowledge and experience in maximising private sector investment and we will be sharing this with the companies, giving them an opportunity to work with us to double or treble their CSR investment and make a sustained impact on youth unemployment in the communities in which they are based,” he said.

“Mutually beneficial partnerships are the key in creating value for organisations and their staff teams to make a difference. This is why so many organisations have committed to working with us, even in the current challenging climate.”