How to Choose a Charity of the Year for Your Agency

Every December, we choose a charity or community group to support the following year.

In 2021, it was a local homeless support charity, Surviving the Streets. In 2022, it was Wolo, an organisation that helps families across Sussex affected by cancer.

For 2023, we’ve committed to supporting a girls’ football team – Crawley Wasps U-11s.

Below is how we do it, and how your agency can also benefit from supporting a local good cause/charity/community group.

1. Commit to a regular monthly amount. For example, we donate £150 per month.
2. Consider at least one fundraising event during the year. We ran the Brighton Marathon this year on behalf of Wolo.
3. Offer your expertise. Your agency has marketing, IT and organisational skills that local charities can and will benefit from.
4. Get involved. This is something we’ve not yet nailed. But by helping and seeing what happens behind the scenes, the whole experience for you and your chosen partners will be more rewarding.

Why we do it

It gives us a purpose as a business beyond simply making a profit. We want to make a positive social difference, so our message ‘content with a conscience’ isn’t just talk.

Why it matters to your agency

The benefits for an estate agency to do something like this are the goodwill it creates, the positive publicity generated locally and the morale boost it gives your team members.

Clients are increasingly making decisions not just on price and product but also on the purpose of the business – and what they stand for beyond delivering an excellent service. It will give your agency a positive point of difference.

Here are five steps to help choose your agency’s charity of the year.

1. Look to support the one you feel drawn to. We chose homelessness, cancer support and youth sport because we feel passionate about these areas. Yours could be a youth group, animal sanctuary, sports team, etc.
2. Research them online before you commit to supporting them. We asked around on local Facebook forums for community groups and charities doing good work locally. Doing this as a business also lets people know you want to support the community you serve.
3. Have a shortlist of two or three options. Then arrange a chat. This point is crucial because you want to feel a connection and rapport with the people involved in the charity/group. Remember, you aren’t committing to anything at this point in the process.
4. Work out a monthly donation you’re happy with (don’t under or overdo it) and consider at least one event/challenge your agency can do to raise additional funds for the charity.
5. Working with a dedicated charity for 12 months gives your efforts a focus. And it creates plenty of content and PR opportunities if you do it right. These opportunities include:
   1. Social media posts around the initial search for a group to support.
   1. A news release, photo and social media posts announcing the partnership.
   1. The people behind the charity/group posts – think of these like your Meet the Team sections.
   1. Video content about the charity/group and why you support them.
   1. Using your channels to share their news.
   1. And many more creative ways to mutually benefit from the partnership.

So many good agents commit to helping their communities across the UK.

Having a plan around supporting the community is the one thing that ALL the elite agents I’ve ever met or worked with have. And by choosing a charity of the year, you give that support much more structure.

Shout out to Mark Shanta, Jim Parker, Annabelle Jardine Jones and Heenay Joshi – four agents, among hundreds in the industry doing great things for their communities.

Thanks for reading.

Jerry