Tyneside tech consultancy Opencast passed the £100,000 charity donations mark as it confirmed the names of the 10 charities it will support in its 10th anniversary year. The charities were decided following a vote across the company.
Opencast is committed to donating at least 2.5 per cent of profits annually to good causes, and the donations from its latest profits total £55,000. They form part of the company’s 10 good things initiative marking the company’s 10th anniversary.
The recipients include a range of UK-registered charities working in the North East, UK-wide and also internationally, from a rape crisis centre and housing and homelessness projects to a tree planting charity and a UK-wide suicide prevention agency. Each charity selected this year will receive a grant of £5091.
The company made an additional donation earlier this year to Ukraine-focused aid agency Operation Safe Drop, and its annual commitment includes matched donations to support individual fundraising efforts up to £250 per head, as well as a tax-efficient payroll giving scheme through the Charities Aid Foundation.
Sheena Widdowfield, Opencast’s head of learning and culture and chair of the company’s charity working group, said: “I am proud that Opencast is committed to giving 2.5 per cent of its profits each year to good causes. This year we wanted to give all our people the chance to have a say in choosing which charities should benefit from our donations. Although we are headquartered in Newcastle, we now have offices – and team members – across the UK and we wanted to reflect that in our donations.”
