Greater purpose: The secret to business success
2021-08-24
The more difficult life becomes during the pandemic, the more the staff at Colin Biggers & Paisley want to give back.
The people from law firm Colin Biggers & Paisley don’t do fundraising by halves.
When the son of one of the legal practice’s lawyers was diagnosed with neuroblastoma just three months after he was born, the practice threw its weight behind funding research that will benefit all children who suffer cancer.
But fundraising and pro bono work wasn’t new for the practice. In fact, it has been a vital part of Colin Biggers & Paisley’s culture for many years. Lawyer Tamara Sims, Colin Biggers & Paisley’s Head of Pro Bono & Responsible Business explains:
We have three focus areas for fundraising and pro bono work – women, children and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people...So when it came onto our radar, The Kids’ Cancer Project gave us something new to focus our energy on.
The very fact that Colin Biggers & Paisley has a position in their legal practice known as ‘Head of Pro Bono & Responsible Business’ speaks volumes about their purpose. In fact, Tamara says, contributing to the community is a key value within the practice. She continues:
In some companies you find you’re working in silos, not connecting with others in the business. Having this focus instead unites us all and also brings our business into the community...
Having a greater purpose and knowing you’re making a difference in the community brings people in the business together.
Virtual trekking, swimming and more
As well as providing generous, pro bono legal services for The Kids’ Cancer Project, the team at Colin Biggers & Paisley has been enormously creative in its fundraising programs.
They’ve had no choice but to be creative – several live events planned as fundraisers were forced to go virtual when the pandemic struck.
A Larapinta Trail trek became a virtual challenge called ‘Step Up For Kids’, with staff members each walking 80 COVID-safe kilometres in their local areas over 10 days.
Tamara continues:
Over 80 people signed up to this event...It hasn’t finished yet, but we’ve already raised $47,000, plus another $15,000 the Larapinta trekkers had been promised.
A Bondi to Bronte virtual swim by the ‘CBP Water Rats’ team also raised $6,900, and a program where donations to The Kids’ Cancer Project were chosen by staff members instead of Christmas gifts raised another $8,790.
The Final Hour Appeal, where staff members volunteer to donate the value of their final hour of work for the year (dollar matched by the business) brought in $11,601.
Other fundraising efforts, including a donation to The Kids’ Cancer Project’s Multiply Campaign, online auctions and client events, have raised several thousands more.
Purpose = Engagement
The fundraising, and the purpose of the fundraising, engages people at Colin Biggers & Paisley...It makes them proud to work for an organisation that is thinking beyond the bottom dollar and is supporting something meaningful.
This sense of greater purpose, Tamara believes, is only becoming more important as the pandemic forces people to question everything they do and to expect more from businesses they interact with.
Everything and everyone has been so uncertain and has been going through such change. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the fact that people really do want to contribute to the community.
- Tamara Sims, Head of Pro Bono & Responsible Business - Colin Biggers & Paisley
Get in touch
With thanks to the support of our partners we can continue to fund vital childhood cancer research. Contact our team today to see how we can work together.
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