So, the Olympics is over and as the euphoria subsides many are rightly questioning the legacy of these Games. The Olympic sponsors paid tens of millions to be associated with the Olympics. The ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ pitched its tent in some of London’s poorest boroughs, but did the sponsors and local communities really connect? And, if they did, what happens now as the show moves on to Rio?
Two years ago Pilotlight brought together nine charities who were already tackling disadvantage in the Olympic boroughs to work with five of the Olympic sponsors (Adidas, BP, BT, Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance and Deloitte).
We asked for a handful of people from each sponsor, drawn from very senior management, to work with the charities over the course of a year. By giving three hours a month, month in month out, the senior executives coached the charities’ leaders, helping them develop their services and plan for the future.
Many of the charities were facing a funding crisis. New Choices for Youth, working with young people in crisis in Plaistow, lost its local government contracts, as did the charity Aanchal, which works with abused women in Newham. It all seemed a million miles away from the Olympic fanfare and both sides must have wondered what was to come of the connection.
Looking back now, there are real lessons about the role of corporate engagement and philanthropy.
The first is that, given proper management of skills, this sort of connection between massive corporates and local charities can work. Surprisingly, this was achieved not by money being given but by drawing senior people from both sides into a real relationship…