Christian Aid
Case Study 1
Christian Aid and the Good Little Company (GLC) have been
in partnership since the company was launched in 2009.
As makers of high-quality ethically sourced sausages, GLC
wanted to ensure that their products didn’t just provide great
meals for their customers, but that they also provided food
for less fortunate people. GLC launched their Good Little
Sausages and Great Big Sausages with a ‘Buy one, give one
free’ pledge; for every pack of sausages bought, GLC provide
a staple meal for someone in a developing country every day
for two weeks. With millions of meals donated via Christian
Aid, and a growing number of awards for their innovative
approach, GLC have made the business of ending poverty
an integral part of their mission.
Barbecuing their sausages outside St Anne’s Cathedral
in Belfast (from left to right) are Dominic Darby, Canon
Neil Cutcliffe, Emma Curistan and Canon Walter Lewis
Christian Aid
Case Study 2
Since 1992, ESB Electric Ireland’s social justice fund Electric
Aid has partnered with Christian Aid to tackle the root causes
of poverty overseas. Remote villages in developing countries
rarely have access to electricity. For villagers unable to
afford kerosene for light, this has far-reaching implications
for education; children can’t study in the dark. To help solve
this problem, ESB Electric Ireland’s staff co-funded the
construction of two community charging stations in the
villages of Mattru Jong and Kamabai in Sierra Leone. The
stations are fuelled exclusively by solar power and provide
equal access to clean and renewable electricity to more than
20,000 people – progress made possible through ESB Electric
Aid’s commitment to helping others living far beyond the
Irish grid.
Customers at the community charging station in
Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone
The business of
ending poverty
How your organisation
can work in partnership
with Christian Aid
Poverty is an outrage against humanity.
It robs people of dignity, freedom and
hope, of power over their own lives.
Christian Aid has a vision – an end to
poverty – and we believe that vision can
become a reality. We urge you to join us.
www.christianaid.ie
Front cover: Baru Begum (right), from Maniknagar village
in Bangladesh, got a small loan from our partner CCDB to
start a weaving and spinning business
Credit: Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan
Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 Company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928
The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid July 2011 11-290-A
Belfast Office
on 028 9064 8133
or [email protected]
Dublin Office
on 01 611 0801
or [email protected]
For more information on how your
company could support our work,
please contact our:
Around 1.4 billion people in the
world still live in extreme poverty
– on less than US$1.25 per day.
They lack the essentials that we
take for granted: clean water, food,
healthcare and education.
Despite the scale of the challenge,
Christian Aid believes that poverty
can be eradicated, but we can only
do this by working together with
the private sector, governments
and civil society organisations.
Government
Voice & action
of citizens
Private
Sector
Church/
Civil Society
Christian Aid/Deborah Doherty
‘Business is a primary driver of innovation, investment and job creation.
There is no longer any doubt that business plays an integral role in
delivering economic and social progress’
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, September 2010.
Below: our partner DDS trains women in India in methods to
preserve seeds. A woman from each group runs a seed bank
from which farmers can take seeds, which they then repay
with interest, meaning they no longer have to buy expensive
commercial seeds
Christian Aid/Chiara Goia/Getty Images
Above: Finlay Communication Ltd in Ireland are supporting Christian Aid partner Mali-Folkecenter to bring an innovative green
electricity project to eight villages in southern Mali. Twenty thousand people will benefit from receiving electricity, and local
farmers will earn extra income by growing jatropha plants, which fuel the generators. Electricity in schools means they are open in
the evening to offer literacy classes to women like Kadja Doumbia (above). Less than 23 per cent of the population of Mali is literate,
so this is a vital education opportunity for those who need it most
The business case
The moral case for eradicating poverty is clear,
but what are the benefits for businesses?
Protecting reputation and market value
Entering emerging markets
Appropriate behaviour by companies can be key to
generating successful returns. Modern media allows
consumers, employees, shareholders and investors
to be better informed about a company’s supply chain
and working practices, and can also be instrumental in
mobilising public opinion and campaigning for change.
Businesses need to work with their various stakeholders
on these issues in order to manage their reputation,
sales and, ultimately, share price.
Developing countries can represent significant market
opportunities for businesses, often known as ‘base of
pyramid’ strategies. It is about developing new low-cost
products and effective business models that address the
basic needs of the poor, such as energy or lighting, in a
sustainable and equitable way.
Securing sustainable and
productive supply chains
Many companies have suppliers in different countries
and need to ensure continuity and quality of supply in
order to maintain market share. This can be done by
making sure that producers are paid a fair price, that
international labour standards and land rights are adhered
to and that local communities are supported.
Contributing to state and economy
By paying and collecting taxes with complete
transparency in developing countries, businesses can
support the local social services and infrastructure,
and contribute to economic growth. This in turn will
secure their supply chain and create a new generation
of consumers for their products.
Below: staff from ADDS, our partner in Nigeria, raise awareness
about malaria prevention and treatment among a church
congregation. They are distributing mosquito nets to vulnerable
groups of people, as part of the Nets for Life programme, which
is supported by private sector partners
Christian Aid/Rachel Stevens
How Christian Aid
works with businesses
There are plenty of ways you can help,
no matter how big or small your company.
Project funding
At any one time we fund more than 600 development
projects, as well as providing humanitarian aid. We can
provide our donors with regular updates on projects,
which can be shared with employees, customers and
suppliers. Organisations may wish to commit to raising a
minimum amount, which on some projects can then be
matched by the European Commission.
Our work in Africa, Asia and
Latin America focuses on a
number of themes including:
■■
secure livelihoods – helping poor and
marginalised people improve and protect the
quality of their lives, adapt and respond to climate
change, and rebuild after emergencies
Some companies make one-off or regular donations.
Corporate gifts are always gratefully received by us and
are deductible from a company’s corporation tax.
■■
economic justice – challenging and changing the
unjust systems that create poverty; helping people
claim their economic rights
A fundraising event is a good way to motivate staff and
build team spirit, while making a real difference to the
lives of some of the poorest people in the world. We can
offer a range of planned fundraising activities throughout
the year, from places in the Dublin, Cork, Belfast and
London marathons, to team places on Christian Aid’s
48 hour version of the Irish 4 Peaks: the 4:48 Challenge.
Gift Aid also enables Christian Aid to reclaim tax on
donations made by individual taxpayers in Northern
Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, tax efficient giving
allows us to reclaim tax on donations totalling more than
€250 in the tax year. Some companies offer a further
incentive to their staff and customers by agreeing
to match any amounts raised.
■■
HIV, malaria and tuberculosis – for example,
providing support and care for people living
with the effects of HIV and challenging the
stigma and discrimination associated with it;
supporting community-based malaria eradication
programmes, including providing bed nets.
Fundraising and donations
By encouraging customers or suppliers to donate to
Christian Aid, perhaps for an emergency appeal or a
specific project, businesses can build customer loyalty and
demonstrate that they are socially responsible companies.
Payroll giving
Companies can also arrange for their employees to make
a direct, tax-free donation to Christian Aid through payroll
giving. Their gift comes straight from the payroll, so is
easy to set up.
Gifts in kind
Some organisations are able to donate goods or
services that may be of value to Christian Aid in
Ireland or to our partners overseas. These may include
vouchers, advertising space, professional services
or humanitarian supplies for use in the aftermath
of an emergency.
Recycling
Recycling employees’ and customers’ old mobile phones
and ink cartridges is an environmentally friendly way
to raise money for Christian Aid’s work around the
world. We receive a donation for every mobile phone
and each recyclable ink cartridge that our supporters
return through the scheme. Free collections can also be
arranged for bulk recycling.
Affinity partnerships and
cause-related marketing
If a company has an ethical outlook or products and
services that are likely to appeal to our supporters, then
an affinity partnership with Christian Aid can improve
brand perceptions, generate new business and increase
customer loyalty. An affinity partnership usually takes
the form of a commission for each sale to one of our
supporters. Cause-related marketing allows companies
to feature a donation to Christian Aid in their marketing to
existing and prospective customers.
Christian Aid/Tom Pilston
Above: children at school in La Paz del Tuma community,
Nicaragua. Our partner Soppexcca works with small coffee
cooperatives there, helping them produce and sell products,
and generating resources that can then be spent on services,
including education and health
Event sponsorship
Sponsoring one of our high-profile fundraising events is
a good way to associate a brand with Christian Aid and
our work around the world. It also provides a unique
opportunity to communicate with our core supporters.
The additional income for Christian Aid allows us to raise
awareness of our fundraising event and to reallocate
funding to our projects.
Understanding the impact of
core business practices
With our advocacy and campaigning work, we seek
both to encourage companies to consider their impact
on people living in poverty and to work collaboratively
with them to agree a timed plan of change that will
benefit business as well as poor communities. Christian
Aid is well placed to conduct such work, with projects
in 45 countries and particular experience of workers’
rights, land rights, climate change, tax legislation and
smallholder agriculture.
Enterprise-based development
We are working with a number of social enterprises
and farmers’ cooperatives to create economically viable
employment, increased income and social benefits
for poor and marginalised people. This may involve
supporting local producers to develop commercially
viable micro, small or medium businesses, or using
market-based models to provide basic services and
social goods. Our enterprise-based work focuses on
two key themes: profitable resilient agriculture, such as
helping farmers to grow drought-resistant crops to cope
with changing weather patterns, and pro-poor energy,
for example, helping communities to access ‘green’
sources of energy, such as solar-powered products,
which are healthier and cheaper.
Social or impact investment
Enterprise-based projects are particularly suitable for
social or impact investment. This is where investors seek
to generate social returns while, at a minimum, returning
capital, or better still, offering market returns. Impact
investment can take many forms ranging from longestablished institutional soft loans, through the many
forms of micro-credit, to private venture capital models.
Christian Aid is exploring new ways of working with both
individual and institutional investors.
Why work with
Christian Aid?
Christian Aid works to expose the scandal of poverty, to help in practical
ways to root it out from the world and to challenge the systems that keep
people poor and marginalised.
We deploy our resources where there is greatest need,
regardless of race or religion, in 45 countries across
Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Our
international programmes reach more than 7 million
beneficiaries and we have more than 1 million active
supporters in Ireland and Britain.
Experts in international development
We have been fighting poverty for more than 60 years
and receive substantial funding from Irish Aid,
the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Methodist Church
in Ireland, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers),
the Church of Ireland, the Non-Subscribing Presbyterian
Church of Ireland, and the Moravian Church. We engage
regularly with these institutions on development and
humanitarian issues.
A pioneer of Fairtrade
Christian Aid has been campaigning for Fairtrade since
1992. That’s when we helped set up the Fairtrade
Foundation and began encouraging supermarkets to
stock products that promise their growers a decent deal.
We are working with coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua to
help them increase their production of Fairtrade coffee
for national and European markets, including Bewley’s in
Ireland, and we have helped farmers in Ghana to launch
their own chocolate bar, Divine, in the UK.
Partnership approach
With over 500 partner organisations around the world,
Christian Aid conducts all programme work, including
emergency responses, through partners. Our distinct
approach recognises that for needs to be met and
change to be lasting, the development process must
be locally owned and managed.
Global reach and influence
Our relationships with local NGOs, churches and secular
groups enable us to reach and mobilise poor communities
around the world, which are otherwise inaccessible.
Our global reach is magnified by our membership of the
ACT Alliance, a partnership of more than 100 ecumenical
agencies, operating in 140 countries.
Brokering relationships
We are able to build innovative, effective relationships
between private, public and community-based actors and
broad-based movements for change that few other NGOs
can match. This enables us to maximise the return on
investment and sustainability of our work with partners.
Accountability and transparency
With no top-heavy international operational infrastructure
or staffing, we have no large overheads or costs,
allowing us to spend more on programmes. We
are committed to transparency and accountability,
receiving a top score in the One World Trust 2007
Global Accountability Report, and in 2009 we gained
Humanitarian Accountability Partnership certification.
Innovative and sustainable solutions
We specialise in working with those most at risk to
reduce the impact of future disasters and conflict and
the demand for humanitarian aid. This helps to break
the cycle of poverty and ensures lasting value for
money. We are also leading innovative approaches to
development based on sustainable enterprise models.
Around 1.4 billion people in the
world still live in extreme poverty
– on less than US$1.25 per day.
They lack the essentials that we
take for granted: clean water, food,
healthcare and education.
Despite the scale of the challenge,
Christian Aid believes that poverty
can be eradicated, but we can only
do this by working together with
the private sector, governments
and civil society organisations.
Government
Voice & action
of citizens
Private
Sector
Church/
Civil Society
Christian Aid/Deborah Doherty
‘Business is a primary driver of innovation, investment and job creation.
There is no longer any doubt that business plays an integral role in
delivering economic and social progress’
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, September 2010.
Below: our partner DDS trains women in India in methods to
preserve seeds. A woman from each group runs a seed bank
from which farmers can take seeds, which they then repay
with interest, meaning they no longer have to buy expensive
commercial seeds
Christian Aid/Chiara Goia/Getty Images
Above: Finlay Communication Ltd in Ireland are supporting Christian Aid partner Mali-Folkecenter to bring an innovative green
electricity project to eight villages in southern Mali. Twenty thousand people will benefit from receiving electricity, and local
farmers will earn extra income by growing jatropha plants, which fuel the generators. Electricity in schools means they are open in
the evening to offer literacy classes to women like Kadja Doumbia (above). Less than 23 per cent of the population of Mali is literate,
so this is a vital education opportunity for those who need it most
Christian Aid
Case Study 1
Christian Aid and the Good Little Company (GLC) have been
in partnership since the company was launched in 2009.
As makers of high-quality ethically sourced sausages, GLC
wanted to ensure that their products didn’t just provide great
meals for their customers, but that they also provided food
for less fortunate people. GLC launched their Good Little
Sausages and Great Big Sausages with a ‘Buy one, give one
free’ pledge; for every pack of sausages bought, GLC provide
a staple meal for someone in a developing country every day
for two weeks. With millions of meals donated via Christian
Aid, and a growing number of awards for their innovative
approach, GLC have made the business of ending poverty
an integral part of their mission.
Barbecuing their sausages outside St Anne’s Cathedral
in Belfast (from left to right) are Dominic Darby, Canon
Neil Cutcliffe, Emma Curistan and Canon Walter Lewis
Christian Aid
Case Study 2
Since 1992, ESB Electric Ireland’s social justice fund Electric
Aid has partnered with Christian Aid to tackle the root causes
of poverty overseas. Remote villages in developing countries
rarely have access to electricity. For villagers unable to
afford kerosene for light, this has far-reaching implications
for education; children can’t study in the dark. To help solve
this problem, ESB Electric Ireland’s staff co-funded the
construction of two community charging stations in the
villages of Mattru Jong and Kamabai in Sierra Leone. The
stations are fuelled exclusively by solar power and provide
equal access to clean and renewable electricity to more than
20,000 people – progress made possible through ESB Electric
Aid’s commitment to helping others living far beyond the
Irish grid.
Customers at the community charging station in
Mattru Jong, Sierra Leone
The business of
ending poverty
How your organisation
can work in partnership
with Christian Aid
Poverty is an outrage against humanity.
It robs people of dignity, freedom and
hope, of power over their own lives.
Christian Aid has a vision – an end to
poverty – and we believe that vision can
become a reality. We urge you to join us.
www.christianaid.ie
Front cover: Baru Begum (right), from Maniknagar village
in Bangladesh, got a small loan from our partner CCDB to
start a weaving and spinning business
Credit: Christian Aid/Elaine Duigenan
Northern Ireland charity number XR94639 Company number NI059154 Republic of Ireland charity number CHY 6998 Company number 426928
The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid July 2011 11-290-A
Belfast Office
on 028 9064 8133
or [email protected]
Dublin Office
on 01 611 0801
or [email protected]
For more information on how your
company could support our work,
please contact our: