Finance company staff raise money for NSPCC

Two charities – the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and Childline – are to receive a cash boost after financial services company KPMG revealed its staff will raise £1 million over the next two years.

KPMG hopes that the money will support 300,000 young people through Childline’s well publicised telephone advice services and the NSPCC’s “Speak Out, Stay Safe” campaign, which visits every UK primary school every three years. The charity teaches pupils how to stay safe from abuse and what to do if they are worrying about something.

The fundraising began on 13th and 14th September, when staff who work at KPMG abseiled down 15 storeys of the company’s HQ in Canary Wharf. A total of 119 of the company’s staff, including the Deputy Chair Melanie Richards and Vice Chair James Stewart, took part.

They were joined by NSPCC CEO Peter Wanless, who said, “I was both excited and terrified to take on my first abseil down the KPMG building. There was a great view at the top but it felt even better once I had got to the bottom! I would like to say a huge thanks to everyone who took part – roll on the next challenge!”

James Stewart, Vice Chair at KPMG, said, “It scared the living daylights out of me and all credit to the staff who joined me in raising a lot of money for NSPCC. Our support for the NSPCC is driven by our people who want to work together to make a difference in the societies that we operate in and particularly improve the lives of children and young people.”

•LB comment: Most of us like to help others when we can. However, sponsored events do not, of course, “raise” money for charitable causes – they transfer money from people to the cause. Often it is the poorest people who contribute most to charity via sponsored events and other donations. On the other hand, KPMG LLP had a UK income of £2.07 billion in 2016 and £2,172 billion in 2017 (source: 2017 Annual Report). Although it will receive some favourable publicity for giving staff time off work to do the abseiling, it seems to be the staff who have to work to meet the donation rather than the funds coming from the company’s own revenue.

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