The society won the top prize for allowing its staff to take up to 31 hours of paid volunteering leave each year.
The financial services provider the Yorkshire Building Society was named Business of the Year at last night’s Business Charity Awards, which recognise the outstanding contribution UK companies make to good causes.
The building society won the top prize for its fundraising efforts and its commitment to volunteering. Last year, the building society introduced a policy that allows staff to take up to 31 hours of paid volunteering leave each year. A variety of different charities, including Marie Curie, which supports terminally ill people, and Silver Line, the confidential helpline for older people, have benefited from the support of YBS.
The awards took place at a black-tie event at the Hilton London Bankside, sponsored by Experian, the credit monitoring agency. The host for the evening was the journalist and radio presenter Julia Hartley-Brewer.
Other winners on the night included the wild bird food producer Vine House Farm, which won Charity Partnership – Small Businesses for its partnership with The Wildlife Trusts; and the environmental services provider Veolia, which won Charity Partnership – Utilities and Services for its collaboration with the ex-offenders charity Blue Sky Development & Regeneration.
The awards also recognise the contribution that teams and individuals play in business-charity partnerships. The award for Outstanding Employee went to Matt Smith of Deloitte, who has been instrumental in raising more than £1m for the accountancy firm’s charity partners. The CSR team award was presented to the St Albans-based furniture contractor JPA, which has provided local charities with recycled furniture and stopped more than a 1,000 items from going to landfill.
