EQ in the community

At EQ we recognise our broader obligations to people who have been less fortunate than us and take an active interest in our community.

Volunteering

All EQ staff are encouraged to donate up to 2 days per year of their time to volunteering initiatives, and we organise a programme of events so that staff can participate as a team. Feedback has been extremely positive at the events we’ve organised this year:

Panathlon

Whitechapel Mission Group 1In June, EQ staff visited Southfields Academy in Wandsworth to help Panathlon deliver a Primary Panathlon attended by special needs groups from six local mainstream primary schools.

Panathlon provide sports competitions and training days for young disadvantaged and disabled people across the UK, and the challenge events included adaptations of two paralympic sports, curling and boccia.

For many of these disabled children it is their only opportunity to engage in competitive sports. Panathlon is one of the EQ Foundation‘s supported charities: you can find out more about the great work they do here.

 

The Whitechapel Mission

Whitechapel Mission Group 1Whitechapel Mission Group 2Two teams of early risers have taken on the Whitechapel Mission’s Breakfast Challenge so far this year. The Whitechapel Mission is open 365 days a year, serving a cooked breakfast to between 200-300 homeless people every day.

The mission is supported by teams of volunteers who come on board for a morning at a time from organisations across the City. It’s a great team challenge, and a rewarding experience to boot, as testified by Will who’s now helped out on both occasions.  Thanks to all the staff at The Whitechapel Mission for making the mornings possible! We very much hope to make this a regular fixture.

“This was my first time volunteering since I was a teenager and it was a truly humbling experience to meet some very inspirational individuals and seeing the fantastic work done at the mission. It really is worth getting out of bed at 4.30am for!”

 

Galleywall Nature Reserve

11417758_473113319520087_3445749339442544050_oIn June, a team of 9 EQ staff spent the day at Galleywall Nature Reserve in Bermondsey, South London.

This tiny oasis of green space has been maintained by a group of volunteers, the Friends of Galleywall Nature Reserve, since 2004 – and is available for school and other community groups to use for education, relaxation and growing vegetables.

Supported by The Conservation Volunteers, EQ’s team helped in the ongoing development of the site, putting in new beds, building a wall and installing a new water butt.

You can find out more about the project at Galleywall here, and opportunities to get involved with the The Conservation Volunteers here.

Find out more

Visit our Facebook Page for details on this and other ways in which EQ makes an active contribution to our community.

The EQ Foundation

Find out more about our registered charity

EQ Matched Giving

Triple the money raised for your favourite cause

We know how hard it can be to raise funds for your favourite cause, so we designed EQ Matched Giving to give your supporters an extra incentive to donate because we will double their donation.

You might decide to take part in a local run or bike ride: you will be able to tell your supporters that their contributions will be leveraged both by our matching and (potentially) Gift Aid and by a further Income Tax rebate.

Example

  • A friend sponsors you for £100
  • Gift Aid increases that to £128
  • Our matching increases it to £228

If your supporter pays tax at 45% they will be able to reclaim a further £31.25, reducing their net cost to £68.75 for a £228 donation to the charity. That’s an increase of 231%. For a 40% taxpayer the rebate will be £25, resulting in a net cost of £75 and an increase of 204%.

Is there a limit?

Yes, there will be a maximum of £1,000 available per client per annum and a minimum (to keep our administration costs bearable) of £200.

Is every client eligible?

Almost. You must have an ongoing fee agreement with us and have been a client for at least six months.

Are any charities not eligible?

A few, we are only supporting UK registered charities and we will not be supporting organisations that operate in certain fields, including amateur sport, private education, single faith religious groups.

How do you apply?

We’ve tried to keep this as simple as possible:

  1. Read the Terms and Conditions
  2. Download an Application Form
  3. Complete it and mail to us at eqgiving@eqinvestors.co.uk

Please note all applications must be sent to EQ Investors within 4 weeks of completing your fundraising event.

Once we have checked that your application meets our eligibility requirements (please see our Terms and Conditions) we will ask you to provide evidence of the money that you have raised.

We will then send a matching amount to the organisation, linking it to you.