Thursday 5 September marks International Day of Charity - an initiative established by the United Nations (UN) to recognise the significant role that charities play in alleviating human suffering and supporting in the case of humanitarian crises.
The initiative came as a result of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, in which the UN recognised the importance of eradicating poverty in all its forms.
This year, the UN is inviting people to commemorate the day by encouraging charitable acts in their communities to raise awareness of the initiative.
At Duncan & Toplis, we’re passionate about supporting charities. Whether it’s providing business advice - including auditing, financial reporting and tax management - or fundraising for local charities, we all like to do our bit.
Duncan & Toplis is a member of Kreston Global and we’re part of the Kreston UK Charity Group, which gives us valuable insights into the financial outlook and challenges for the third sector.
Earlier this year, Kreston Global published its Charities Report 2024 which shows that the charitable sector has been hugely impacted by various financial factors in recent years. This includes the cost of living crisis, growing energy bills and rising inflation. The sector has also struggled with recruitment issues, despite attempts to attract employees with increased salaries and more flexible working.
Despite this, the report also shows the resilience of the sector, with charities remaining confident in their financial outlook - as well as them believing they still have the capacity to deliver their required services in 2024.
As a business, the report allows us to support charities through these challenges by understanding their experiences and providing important guidance on how they can overcome them and grow.
In 2022, we made a commitment to supporting good causes by establishing The Duncan & Toplis Foundation. This helps us to identify local causes that align with our chosen criteria and allows us to make a greater contribution to communities in the East Midlands.
Funds for the foundation are primarily raised through the commitment of our team members, who contribute by donating money, offering themselves as volunteers and taking part in fundraising events. Because of this, we’ve been able to pledge to making more donations to local businesses than we ever have before.
What’s more, every penny of the money we raise goes directly to the causes we support. We’ve pledged that a minimum of 95% of the funds raised will be donated to UK causes, with the remaining 5% being donated to international organisations supported by Kreston Global.
We choose the charities we support based on core criteria and, every year, the foundation leadership team decides on three to five focus areas for the upcoming financial period. These include things such as community spaces, food and shelter, art and creativity, palliative care and work for young people.
Organisations that we have helped so far include:
Through the foundation and the fundraising efforts of our team members, we continue to support our local communities in everything we do. This attitude towards helping others is embedded in our corporate vision, which places the ambitions of our team members, along with those of the communities we serve, at the heart of our work.
To learn more about The Duncan and Toplis Foundation and how to apply for funding, please click here.
And if you’re a charity looking for accounting services and business advice, get in touch with our expert charities team - we’d love to hear from you.
