Agenda item

Caroline Wright, Chief Executive of the The Lord Mayor’s Appeal to be heard.

The Chairman welcomed Caroline Wright, Chief Executive of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. He underlined that the Appeal was a vital part of the Lord Mayor’s role and also urged all Aldermen to continue to support the Appeal via attendance at events such as the Sheriffs’ Ball and other charitable events.

Ms Wright spoke on the Appeals ‘four pillars’ – inclusive, healthy, skilled and fair and its mission to create a better City for all. The Committee were provided with a brief update as to the initiatives run underneath each pillar as follows:

·       Power of Inclusion – the focus here was around Social Mobility and this would continue to be the case in the coming years. The aim here was to increase opportunities for those from diverse social and economic backgrounds to start, develop and progress their careers in the City of London. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal had engaged with over 64 companies this year in its first two workshops and had discussed topics such as the cost of living crisis and building effective social mobility networks. A further workshops as well as a Senior Leader Roundtable event was also planned for later in the year.

·       This is Me – the aim here was to end the stigma around mental health in the workplace across the UK. This was delivered via storytelling, the Green Ribbon Campaign and the Well-being in the Workplace e-learning tool. Engagement for This is Me continued to grow across the country and also in Asia. Conversations around establishing another regional This is Me group in the South West were also underway – this would add to the offerings already established in Scotland, Yorkshire and the West Midlands. During this year, one workshop had taken place to launch the event and a Mental Health Awareness Week Roadshow had taken place to celebrate all that was happening in City businesses and beyond. It was reported that a total of 26,300 Green Ribbons had been sold this year to date.

·       We Can Be – an initiative to build the skills and confidence of the most disadvantaged young women and provide access to opportunities within the City of London. The first We Can Be in-person event in a number of years had taken place earlier this year and was attended by 190 young women hosted by businesses across the City. Some attendees would go on to be mentored across the year and some would attend skills workshops – taking We Can Be beyond just a one day intervention – something that would continue to be built upon in coming years.

·       City Giving Day – a well-established initiative familiar to the Aldermen and a means of uniting businesses in the City and beyond by celebrating their positive impact on charities and local communities through philanthropy and volunteering. It was reported that this year’s offering had already surpasses last year’s number of registrations with 535 registrations to date and a target of 694. Ms Wright spoke of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal events taking place this year including a treasure hunt, City walk and quiz night. The Committee were also informed that an online auction was being held where companies were donating as well as bidding for various items. Other events this year included the Tour de City and Music in Offices Singing for City Giving Day.

Ms Wright went on to highlight the three charities currently being supported and explained that there were three charities championed each year and that each charity was supported for a three-year period. Current partnerships were with National Numeracy, MQ Mental Health Research and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. At the end of this Mayoralty, the Duke of Edinburgh Award would rotate off of the programme and a new charity would be brought online. Ms Wright went on to highlight the work of each of the three charities currently supported undertaken in partnership with the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. Ms Wright explained that, although the funds from the Lord Mayor’s Appeal were incredibly valuable to these charities, they all found that the profile, connections, link with other partner charities and exposure that they gained through their partnership with the Lord Mayor’s Appeal went way beyond any financial benefits.

In terms of Lord Mayor’s Appeal events held to date, Ms Wright reported on the Lord Mayor’s recent abseil, the Lady Mayoress’ Sleep Out, a Golf Day and a ‘Call My Wine Bluff’ evening. The Sheriffs’ Ball and the Grand Finale were still to come.

Ms Wright spoke of the Appeal’s Corporate Partners which remained a key focus and was the biggest arm of fundraising. It was reported that there were four different levels of partnership, all at different levels of funding. She added that any help that the Aldermen were able to offer in terms of future Corporate Partnerships would be much appreciated. She also encouraged all to further support the Appeal by wearing the badge, encouraging companies in their Wards to register for City Giving Day and making introductions to those contacts who may have an interest in the Appeal’s areas of work.

Ms Wright concluded by flagging the Impact Reception to be held on 21^st November 2023 at the Mansion House and extended an open invitation to all to attend. The reception would showcase the impact made by the charities supported and their initiatives.

The Chairman thanked Ms Wright for an excellent overview of the work of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal. He stressed the importance of continuing to build upon Corporate Partners.

The Deputy Chairman congratulated Ms Wright and her team on their hard work in turning this into a real success and an enduring appeal with significant national influence which it was important to continue to invest in and nurture. He stressed that City Giving Day went well beyond just raising money for charity and was very much about taking pride in the City and celebrating its wider purpose.  

An Alderman echoed the congratulations to Ms Wright and the team and stated that it was difficult to estimate the national impact of initiatives such as ‘This is Me’ and the GALENOS project. He reported that the Appeal were continuing to undertake much work in the background and were exploring opportunities around a volunteering platform for the City as well as the option of introducing a Payroll Giving service for the City’s SMEs.