Phoebus reaches charity fundraising target
21 March 2023
Banking and mortgage technology firm Phoebus has surpassed its fundraising target for 2022, raising £8,470 for its charity of the year, the Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.
In recognition of its support, Phoebus has been chosen by the charity as one of its ‘100 Heroes for 2023’. Phoebus’ achievement is being commemorated with a special, personalised red balloon at the front of the hospital for 12 months and an invitation to a celebratory afternoon tea party.
The Phoebus fundraising target for last year was £8,000 and will be the same again in 2023 and the nominated charity is The British Heart Foundation. Phoebus has its own charity committee which is in the process of putting together fundraising activities for this year.
But charity is not just about fundraising, it’s also important to give your time and offer your skills. Last year, Phoebus started a partnership with Make Good Grow, an innovative charity matching service that brings together volunteers to help good causes.
One of the projects Phoebus worked on via Make Good Grow was assisting the Mayday Trust. The charity provides supported accommodation services for people experiencing tough times, such as homelessness or leaving care, and is making radical changes to broken systems.
Phoebus colleagues used their digital skills to assist the Mayday Trust in creating and editing the podcast ‘Conversations That Challenge’.
Since 2010, Phoebus has supported not-for-profit organisation Kiva, which helps alleviate poverty by providing small loans to improve the working or living environment of people in developing countries.
To date Phoebus has provided 347 loans in 47 countries totalling almost $20,000. These loans support activities including furniture making, grocery stores, property, construction supplies, farming and manufacturing.
The latest loans that have been repaid were $200 for a cattle ranch in Tajikistan, $400 for farming in Kenya, $250 for a shop in Senegal and a series of $50 loans to general stores in the Philippines. Repayment of the loans is continually re-invested into providing other loans.
Adam Oldfield, chief revenue officer at Phoebus, said: “Charity is at the heart of our company culture and colleagues are always generous with their fundraising efforts. But we also encourage volunteering and our partnership with Make Good Grow is a fantastic way to match the skills of our people with the needs of charities.
“Our day-to-day business is servicing the loans of lenders and other financial services companies so the partnership with Kiva resonates with us. We are pleased to be able to help people in less fortunate parts of the world make a better life for themselves by giving them a head start with a loan to develop their business. It’s great to see that many of the loans we’ve supported have now been paid back, showing the success of these projects.”
