Company Supporters
A Partnership with Fighting Blindness
Fighting Blindness is an ideal partner for companies wishing to work with a charity.
In this section:
Our brand is a great Irish success story and is a world leader in its field – qualities which can resonate with your marketing objectives and offer great opportunities for PR.
We have ground-breaking research projects in universities and institutes throughout the country and our unique counselling services help hundreds of people with visual impairments and their families across Ireland.
Benefits of a Fighting Blindness partnership include:
- Knowing that your support is allowing Fighting Blindness to continue to find treatments and cures for blindness
- Improving the value and reputation of your brand
- Strengthening links between staff, customers and stakeholders
- Partnering with Fighting Blindness offers your business the opportunity to differentiate from the competition
Fighting Blindness works with all sizes of companies and we will be happy to discuss with you how we can develop a partnership tailored to your specific business and CSR needs.
To find out more about how we can work with you, contact Emma Horgan on +353 1 709 3050 or email fundraising@fightingblindness.ie.
Why we need your help
Fighting Blindness is a registered charity and relies on its members, volunteers and corporate partners to generate income. By becoming a Corporate Supporter you will be directly contributing to the charity's work in finding cures for blindness.
However the charity is far more than a research body. It runs a unique professional counselling service for people with sight loss and their families. It also helps to shape external policy and issues of public debate on medical research for the benefit of not only eye conditions but a wide range of other diseases and conditions.
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Benefits of Working With FB
Fighting Blindness is looking to work with like-minded brands in partnerships which will bring tangible benefits to both the charity and your company.
If your organisation or client decides to work with Fighting Blindness, benefits could include:
- Association with a world-leading research charity.
- Your dedicated Fighting Blindness partnership manager.
- Branding on project/event marketing materials.
- Launch of the partnership involving Fighting Blindness families and celebrities.
- Exclusive access to high profile Fighting Blindness events.
- Staff team-building events organised by Fighting Blindness.
- Exposure in our bi-annual Visionaries magazine, on our website and in our regular email newsletters.
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Sponsor An Event
By sponsoring a Fighting Blindness event we can help you to:
- Build and add value to your company image
- Strengthen your brand
- Enhance your brand values
- Expose your product/services to the general public, Fighting Blindness supporters and key opinion formers
- Increase staff motivation and retention
We have a busy calendar of events throughout the year which offer significant PR opportunities.
Current opportunities:
- Active Challenge Sponsorships: World-wide treks, Irish challenges, skydives, etc.
- Annual National Fundraising and Awareness Campaign
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Charity of the Year
Adopting a charity like Fighting Blindness means you will make a difference at a community level.
With research projects and counselling throughout Ireland, we offer companies an opportunity to help support projects working to provide cures and emotional support for adults and children with sight-loss, and also their families and friends.
We will help you to make the most of your partnership by keeping it simple, providing support and keeping you updated on how you’re changing lives and bringing hope to people in your communities:
- You will have your own dedicated contact at Fighting Blindness to co-ordinate all staff fundraising activities.
- We will work with you to create a bespoke programme of activities and events for your staff.
- You will have lots of opportunities for sponsorship or exclusive events including balls and golf days.
- You could have your own team of runners at the Dublin City Marathon and women’s mini marathon.
- Media and publicity support.
- Staff motivation with regular contributions through payroll giving.
- Staff fundraising: fundraising at work can be great fun and a rewarding way of building staff morale.
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Payroll giving
Payroll giving is an easy way to contribute regularly to Fighting Blindness through payroll deductions.
Q. What is payroll giving?
A. Payroll giving is a form of donating to Fighting Blindness through your company’s payroll department. Your donation will be taken directly from your wages, so when you receive your wages, the donation will already have been deducted. Your payroll department will then send your donation on by whatever means is most appropriate for them; cheque or credit transfer.
Q. How do I donate to Fighting Blindness through my payroll?
A. Here are some guidelines:
Decide on how much you would like to donate on a weekly/monthly basis. Contact Fighting Blindness who will provide you with a form for your payroll department. Complete the form and submit it to the relevant person in the payroll department. Confirm with them that the company is happy to process the donation. Contact Fighting Blindness to confirm that the payroll deduction has been set up with your company, and provide contact details for your payroll department.
Q. What if my company doesn’t already have a payroll giving scheme
A. If your company doesn’t already have a payroll giving scheme set up with Fighting Blindness, they may be understandably hesitant about beginning such a scheme without all of the relevant information. If this is the case, please contact Fighting Blindness with contact details for your payroll department and we will deal directly with them to alleviate any reservations that they might have.
Q. Can I change the amount of my regular donations?
A. Yes, you can increase, decrease or stop your donations at any stage. To do this, you would need to notify both your payroll department and Fighting Blindness in writing. We will then make the necessary amendment to your payroll giving scheme immediately.
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Employee Fundraising
Supporting the Fighting Blindness cause is a chance for your employees to make a real difference to people with sight loss. We encourage staff to learn more about how serious visual impairment impacts on people’s everyday lives, our counselling service and our work to find treatments and cures. Your support will take us a step further towards our vision of a world without blindness.
Working with Fighting Blindness will allow your organisation to contribute to the local community as well as giving the staff involved a tremendous sense of achievement.
We propose a series of initiatives for staff involvement with the focus on teambuilding while fundraising:
- Support our national fundraising and awareness day by holding staff fundraising events
- Sponsor and sell our merchandise for our National Fundraising Day
- Join Team Fighting Blindness in marathons and mini marathons
- Take part in our skydives / parachute jumps
- Join in our overseas trek challenges
- Enter teams in our Irish Challenge and survival challenges – fun, teambuilding event.
- Payroll giving initiatives
Volunteering for Fighting Blindness provides a unique solution for companies looking for out-of-the-ordinary team building and staff development ideas.
Doing something worthwhile is the best stimulus for any employee and Fighting Blindness has plenty to offer individuals and teams alike.
Many of our employee fundraising challenges are designed to test practical ability, leadership and team working skills in a fun and competitive atmosphere. The benefits of getting involved include the encouragement of team building, acquiring new skills and encouraging staff motivation.
For more details call Emma Horgan on +353 1 709 3050, email fundraising@fightingblindness.ie.
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Cause-related Marketing
A cause-related marketing partnership with Fighting Blindness can help your organisation to meet its business and promotional needs. It will also allow you to use the strength of your brand to make a positive impact on the need for more counselling services country-wide and to speed up our research into cures for blindness.
Research shows that 81 per cent of consumers are more likely to buy a product or service that is associated with a cause they care about (Business in the Community, 1999).
Cause-related marketing includes event sponsorship, sales promotions or a donation of money, goods or services; it is a commercial activity with a measurable return on investment.
Today’s socially-conscious consumers want easier and more efficient ways to support the causes they are passionate about. By partnering with Fighting Blindness you will be instantly connected with a name which is synonymous with care, protection and reliability. Cause-related marketing partnerships actively support and build on already established values.
Research shows that consumers are more likely to buy a product or service which is associated with a cause.
To discuss cause related marketing partnerships contact Emma Horgan on +353 1 709 3050, email fundraising@fightingblindness.ie.
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Gift In Kind
Your support for Fighting Blindness doesn't have to be financial. You can give gifts in kind to help fund our work - helping us to maximise the efficiency of our research funding and our counselling work within the community.
All variety of gifts could make a real difference to Fighting Blindness - anything from auction prizes for our gala balls to scientific equipment or furniture. You could even offer your time and your expertise.
As a way of saying 'thank you' we will arrange for your company to be acknowledged for any gifts that you are able to donate and would aim to generate some PR where possible.
For further information of how you can support us through a gift in kind please call Emma Horgan on +353 1 709 3050, email fundraising@fightingblindness.ie.
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Tax Efficient Giving
As an eligible charity under the 2001 Finance Act, Fighting Blindness can claim back thousands of euro from the Revenue Commissioners each year.
Companies can claim a deduction for a donation as if it were a trading expense. The donation must take the form of a payment of one or more sums of money and the relief will be granted at your company’s marginal rate of tax.
Many companies use a cash donation to Fighting Blindness as a convenient way of rationalising their giving plans. Companies, for example, can use cash donations to insulate themselves form the day-to-day administration associated with vetting charitable requests.
Many companies choose to donate the money they save through this tax relief back to Fighting Blindness, in addition to their original donation.
To qualify for the tax relief a donation:
- Must be in the form of money
- Must not be repayable
- Must not confer any benefit on the donor or any person connected with the donor
- Must not be conditional on, or associated with, any arrangement involving the acquisition of property by the charity or approved body.
For more information visit www.revenue.ie.
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Our Corporate Partners
All sorts of organisations have benefited from an association with Fighting Blindness.
Whatever your company’s size, we’re sure you’ll find a partnership with us rewarding.
Contact us today to find out more about working with Fighting Blindness and how we can help you fill your Corporate Social Responsibility goals.
Fighting Blindness is proud to be associated with the following companies:
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