The Access Group Raises £1.3million for Global Charities
The Access Group, one of the largest UK-headquartered providers of business management software for small and mid-sized organisations in the UK, Ireland, USA and Asia Pacific, has raised over £1.3 million for its chosen charities at the end of its fiscal year to June 30th, 2023.
Supporting charities in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Romania and Malaysia, the Access culture of giving back benefits charities in locations where they have a significant operation and a large number of employees.
Charitable giving in the organisation has doubled over the last twelve months year and continues an upward trajectory as the Group expands into new international regions, fostering a culture of giving, supporting local community projects and providing financial aid to the charities and causes that mean the most to Access employees.
Parkinson’s UK, the largest charitable funder of Parkinson’s research in Europe, was the Access Charity of the Year in the UK for 2022/2023. The charity was nominated by two staff members who had experienced first-hand the distress that the condition causes individuals and their families.
Throughout the year, a combination of employee fundraising, match funding by the business and grants from The Access Foundation has raised nearly £1million for the charity, which supports their ongoing work to drive forward research, clinical trials and the education process to develop better understanding and awareness of the condition.
Caroline Rassell, Chief Executive of Parkinson's UK said:
“We are incredibly grateful to The Access Group for their generous donation. Over the past year, they have taken on some inspiring fundraising challenges, from skydives to mammoth treks, all rallying together to raise funds for people living with Parkinson's.
We depend on donations from organisations like Access to fund our work and thanks to this generous £1million donation, Parkinson’s UK will be able to invest more money into funding new nurse posts around the country that play a vital role in giving expert care to people with Parkinson's.”
Fraser Graham and Natalie Giles-Grant, who nominated Parkinson’s UK to be the Charity of the Year in the UK after their fathers had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, have been overwhelmed by the response from colleagues:
Natalie commented:
"Wow, what a year! When I got the call to let me know that Parkinson’s UK had been selected as our Charity of the Year in the UK, I could have never imagined how big a success it would be. We have smashed all our fundraising targets, thanks to our employees in the UK, and this donation is going to help change so many lives of families like mine and Fraser's who have been so touched by everyone’s efforts this year.”
At Access in Australia, AU$254,000 has been raised to support Variety Children’s Charity, ensuring all children are given the same opportunities in life irrespective of sickness, disability or economic disadvantage. Their work funds life-changing programs that provide children and young people across Australia with a better future.
In Romania, where the Group opened a new Global Operations Centre earlier this year, 421,000 ron has been raised to support Scoala Mamei Junior, a children’s hospital in Timisoara which serves half of the population of the country and where funds have been used to buy essential medical equipment.
In Ireland, €47,000 was raised for the Jack and Jill Foundation; in New Zealand, NZ$53,000 was raised for the Muscular Dystrophy Association; in Malaysia and Singapore, MYR 145,000 was raised for the National Cancer Society.
Claire Scott, Chief Employee Success Officer at The Access Group, commented:
“The generosity of our people is an ongoing source of pride, and we are delighted to be able to support so many incredible causes that directly impact people’s lives. As the Group grows, so does our capacity to help. In regions such as Malaysia, where we are expanding our business operations, we already work with charities there. As we continue to expand internationally, in FY24 we plan to partner with even more global charities to continue to make an impact and give back to local communities and causes which are close to our hearts.
Similarly, The Access Foundation goes from strength to strength in its efforts to make the online world more inclusive by supporting projects tackling digital poverty across the globe and providing practical help to digitally disadvantaged people. We aim to award foundation grants up to £2million a year by 2026.”
