Made by Sport has called for British business to invest their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in sport for good. The State of Play report found that sport for good had some of the most successful outcomes for any initiative. The Social Return on Investment (SROI) averaged £6 for every £1 compared to £4 for simple sports participation.
In the UK, not only has the pandemic exacerbated poverty amongst young people, but it has highlighted its wide-ranging impacts. Despite efforts to increase training and employment initiatives, it is expected that 50% or 5.2 million young people will live in poverty in 2022.
Whilst Chancellor Rishi Sunak has recently released a mini-budget, raising the tax threshold for NI among others, the rise in cost-of-living will only increase the burden on the youngest.
The report found that:
- 83% of young people admitted that their mental health had been affected by the pandemic.
- 22% of young people had experienced suicidal thoughts
- 28% of young people not in education, training, or employment (NEET) had experienced suicidal thoughts.
With the proven success of volunteer-led community sport, many of which have suffered a £600million decrease in local authority funding, the benefit to the ‘last hired, first fired’ generation is clear. Despite the overwhelming benefits to mental and physical health, FTSE100 companies devote less than 0.5% of their CSR activity to this goal.
Sophie Mason, a guest on The Drive Phase podcast and an expert in fundraising, commented on the findings as CEO of Made by Sport:
“This is an open goal for British business where everyone benefits; from the young people themselves and their communities and yet incredibly business overlooks the societal and commercial benefits that come from looking beyond corporate sponsorships and entertainment when planning their annual CSR and marketing spend.”
“Made by Sport has established large-scale partnerships that have made a real difference to distribute grants quickly and effectively at a national and local level and helped over 1500 clubs through the uncertainty of Covid-19.”
To read the report, see here.
Don’t forget to check out some of Sophie Mason’s insights on the power of sport and her expert knowledge in fundraising on The Drive Phase podcast.
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