How UK startups are supporting local charities

Startup businesses are using their profits to create a wider positive impact and align with charities that both their teams and their audience believe in and UK startups are at the centre of a charitable revolution. 

To learn more, we’ve taken a look at some of the startups already donating and why they’re doing it.

Startups Supporting Local Charities

From sustainability to remote work, startups lead the way in changing traditional business models. The drive towards more ethical business actions is no different, with smaller names making big waves by partnering with charities that suit their brand values and ethics.

Let’s take a look at some startups already doing this.

Hive19 – Digital PR & Link Building Agency

A Brighton-based Fintech and SaaS link building agency that helps brands generate more organic visibility online, Hive19 (founded during the COVID-19 pandemic) wasted no time in showing their support for charities.

Focusing on causes that their founders and the wider team felt closely aligned to, they set out to partner with organisations supporting planet-friendly causes and LGBTQ+ support.

Hive19 now works with a number of charities in these areas, including a partnership with GreenTheUK to support re-wilding and conservation in the UK. They have also worked closely with The Ledward Centre, a charity that provides much-needed support for the local LGBTQ+ community. Hive19 provided a free reputation management campaign to help grow the Ledward Centre’s online presence following the opening of its new community centre in Brighton and the launch of a new website.

WUKA – Period Pants FemTech

Another UK startup with a long list of charitable partnerships is WUKA, the female-founded business selling sustainable period wear.

They’ve carried out a number of charitable projects, including donating 1% of every sale during the launch of their Swim Collection to The Wave Project, which helps young British people struggling with mental health through surf therapy.

They’re also partnered with notable charitable names including Choose Love and Endometriosis UK.

Dropless – Vehicle Care Company

Dropless, an innovative car cleaning company in London that uses eco-friendly cleaning solutions and less water to keep cars clean without harming the planet. They support the charity WATERisLIFE, which works to build sustainable drinking wells and provide clean water in developing countries.

Why Partner With or Support Charities?

Hive19, WUKA, and Dropless are just a sample of the countless numbers of startups working with local (as well as national or global) charities. But, why is this such an important strategy for businesses?

Aside from the serotonin boost of giving back, working with charities has countless knock-on positive effects for brands. Companies that donate to charity can see benefits including:

• Making connections in their local community
• Boosting team morale
• Improving brand recognition
• Enabling innovative marketing opportunities
• Focusing their brand identity

Businesses are able to explore ways in which they can make a difference beyond monetary value, creating a brand that supports its community, its customer base, and the world at large.

Choosing Charities to Support

Of the startups mentioned, there’s one link that ties each company’s charitable choices together; they’re on brand.

• Hive19’s beehive adoption
• Dropless’s clean water support
• WUKA’s donation to The Wave

These causes are all relevant to their brand image or their products. This helps solidify their values but also provides fantastic marketing opportunities, and as WUKA showed, can be a brand-positive marketing strategy in itself.

Many startups also choose charities based on their founders’ and wider team’s values. Hive19’s partnership with LGBTQ+ charities is a connection forged by Maxine Bremner, a member of the queer community herself. Hive19’s focus on building sustainability into its core brand values comes from Louisa Delpy’s passion for climate action.

Not only does this create a cohesive, supportive feeling within their team, but it also creates a brand that’s about more than a logo or a service; it’s about the people who build it.

Why should startups support charities?

Supporting charities is one of the smartest ways for a UK startup to quickly build a brand image that their audience is drawn to.

More than that, though, it gives founders the chance to create a business that’s about more than money, helping to shape a kinder and safer world one partnership at a time.

To keep up with charitable causes around the UK, join the Charity Today community and become a part of the nation’s leading charity news publication.