Charities

• the rollout of the National Literacy Scheme's 'Reading is Fundamental' project to six Islington primary schools. The children attended a series of events and were each given three books
• the development of a series of after school clubs for Yr 3 - 6 children, to be held at the Ragged School Museum in Tower Hamlets
• a contribution towards the costs of INQUEST'S ongoing work. INQUEST is unique and provides valuable specialist support and advice to families involved in an inquest following an unexplained or controversial death
• the refurbishment of six one-person units in Centrepoint's supported flats, assisting young homeless people as they work towards full independence
• continued support for Pembroke House's Young Visions project, whose main focus is a series of school-based workshops to help students learn more about the various professions and career options open to them

We have now ended our discretionary grant-making programme, and will instead focus on developing long-term relationships with selected community partners. This means that we can no longer accept unsolicited funding applications.

It is important to the partners that employee philanthropy is supported and encouraged and there are two main ways in which we do this:

• Payroll giving - which allows employees to make regular charitable donations direct from their salary payments. The firm is a holder of the 'Payroll Giving Quality Mark - Gold Award' and covers all costs associated with the scheme. We also hold a six monthly prize draw for all participants, awarding donations to the winners' charities
• Funds for Fundraisers - our home-grown matched funding programme, which is explained in the case study