Ambassadors including Hugh Grant, KSI, Helen Mirren and Tom Hardy attend firm’s Canary Wharf offices to help generate $16million for good causes
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“Nothing can mitigate or change the catastrophic loss felt by staff at BGC Group when planes crashing into the World Trade Centre as part of the 9/11 terrorist attacks took the lives of 658 people, employees of its the parent company, Cantor Fitzgerald.
“The feeling never goes away,” said Sean Windeatt, BGC’s co-CEO.
“I was on the phone to a colleague in the towers when the planes hit – it doesn’t matter that it was 25 years ago.
“I’m always thinking about it, but ultimately those are private, inner thoughts.
“Recently, I was talking to the former president of the company, Shaun Lynn, about that time and remembering what happened.
“But we were also saying how incredibly proud we are of what’s happened since – how the company has successfully rebuilt itself and what we’re able to do for charitable causes.”
That latter achievement, especially, is extraordinary.
After ensuring colleagues affected by the attacks were supported BGC launched its annual Charity Day in 2005.
The financial services company invites charities’ celebrity patrons onto its trading floor to close deals on behalf of their organisations with all the revenue donated to good causes.
In addition to the money, the media attention generated helps raise awareness and buzz around organisations’ activities.
This year, a record-breaking $16milllion was generate in a single day, bringing the overall total to $250million since 2005.
It’s a demonstration of the impact a sustained, powerful initiative can have.
part of the company’s identity
“We still have around 50 members of staff who were at BGC 25 years ago – that means, of the 1,500 people who work in the company, 1,450 were not working on that day,” said Sean.
“However, all of them understand what we stand for, that charity is in the DNA of the business.
“With what we went through at that time, we were lucky to remain in existence.
“The people working here now know that and I’m immensely proud of how hard they work for our Charity Day to ensure we make as much money for those organisations as possible.
“It couldn’t happen without the commitment of our brokers and the generosity of our clients.”
This year, BGC’s phones were staffed by the likes of Dame Helen Mirren, Tom Hardy, Hugh Grant, Leigh-Anne Pinnock of Little Mix, Michael Mcintyre, Maro Itoje, Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook), Sir Gareth Southgate, Youtuber KSI and many, many more.
Since 2005, over 1,000 charities have received funding through the initiative including more than 60 UK organisations that have received cash every year.
These range from large global charities to small grassroots initiatives.
However, BGC now wants other businesses to follow suit. In light of a report by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), which found just 27% of companies supported charities in any way and only 17% donated cash, Sean is calling on others to do more and to reap the obvious rewards.
a call to action
“We operate in a fiercely competitive business world and I don’t think there’s any doubt that giving to charity makes us more successful,” said Sean.
“The fact we are supporting others is something that’s recognised by our clients, other businesses and our own staff.
“They know we’re about more than just making money, we’re about supporting others. They choose to work with us or work harder for us as a result and we become more successful.
“As our revenues rise, so does the amount we give to charity – it’s a virtuous circle. I was shocked by the statistic in the report.
“I understand that it’s tough for businesses, as it is for individuals, but companies that are doing well have some sort of responsibility to do some kind of charitable giving.
“For the percentage to be less than a third really surprised me, especially at a time when the cost of living crisis is stopping households contributing and often making charities’ overheads rise.
“What we’re trying to do in the wake of our latest charity day is to raise awareness of the impact the corporate world can have by helping to fill that gap.”
This year, BGC has teamed up with philanthropist John Caudwell to call on companies to do more.
CAF’s report found that if businesses donated 1% of their pre-tax profits, charities could receive nearly £5billion in additional funding – more than three times the drop in donations last year.
John, the first British billionaire to sign the Giving Pledge, committing the majority of his personal fortune to good causes, took part in BGC’s Charity Day to help raise money for Caudwell Youth.
He said: “BGC’s Charity Day is a fantastic initiative and a powerful example of how businesses can support charities and make a lasting difference in people’s lives.
“Having founded Caudwell Youth, I have seen first hand how vital this kind of support is.
“This generous donation from BGC Charity Day will fund one-to-one mentoring for young people facing mental health challenges, leaving care, or at risk of exploitation and offending.
“Thanks to BGC’s support, Caudwell Youth can reach more young people with the consistent support and guidance they need to build a brighter future.”
real things in real lives
While the glitz and glam of the event itself is important, for Sean one of the most valuable and moving sides to Charity Day is seeing the granular impact of those millions of dollars.
“The event has paid for wheelchairs, hospice care, medical research and community projects – real things in real lives,” he said.
“On the day itself we invite charities and some of the people they help to attend and it’s a moment of great pride to watch everyone pulling together, meeting and having fun – to see how much benefit is being created.
“It’s wonderful to see that energy. Then over the course of the year it doesn’t stop.
We get out of the office to meet the charities – we give staff volunteering opportunities and it’s incredible to hear what our support means to these organisations.
“We know from these experiences how regular funding and support is so important for charities – especially at the moment, so that’s exactly why we’re saying businesses should do more when they can.
“If just 50% of the companies that currently give nothing were to contribute 1% of pre-tax profits it would make such a difference.”
case study: National All Star Skills Academy (NASSA)
The National All Star Skills Academy (NASSA) is an east London charity based in Newham that uses sport as an engine to fight gang culture and knife crime, but also to act as an agent of social mobility.
Centred primarily on basketball, its Carry A Basketball Not A Blade campaign reaches thousands of school kids each year, while its training sessions and teams are vehicles to focus young minds on fitness, skill, discipline and collaborative effort.
As a grassroots charity founded by Natasha Hart in 2006, the organisation has an extensive track record of effectively addressing issues in society through rapid action with programmes that deliver results.
It’s quick to respond and maintains the feel of a close-knit family, despite helping and educating more than 100,000-plus young people.
Last year, BGC Group decided to donate $10,000 to NASSA to support its ongoing work in east London, raised during its Charity Day.
“I can’t begin to say how grateful we are to BGC for this money,” said Natasha, who remains the charity’s CEO.
“We immediately decided, having identified a need locally, to use it to support a new kind of session for NASSA.
“I’d spoken with several mothers locally and we set up regular ball skills training for young people with conditions such as autism, Down’s Syndrome or other complex needs.
“The donation covers court hire at the University Of East London, all the equipment needed and also pays for a specialist coach.
“Over eight months, we were able to run 90-minute sessions once a week for young people aged eight to 18 in response to clear demand from the local community.
“Just through word of mouth we had 25 families registered on our books.
“The young people would come down and learn skills inspired by basketball that are appropriate for their abilities – they’d be passing, shooting and dribbling.
“But they would also be plenty of free time to just have fun and run about.
“One of the things we noticed was that the coach was able to also teach them elements of discipline.
“While there was a lot of excited running around in the early sessions, that changed – you would not believe how much progress they made.
“We also used some of the money to reward that by purchasing certificates and medals for participants and you could see in their eyes what that recognition meant to them.”
In addition to allowing NASSA to train some of its own coaches in-house to help run the sessions, the initiative has also provided parents and carers with some respite.
“Caring for a child with complex needs or a specific condition can be very intense and it can be a 24-hour job,” said Natasha.
“One of the reasons for setting up these sessions was to give parents and carers a break, even if that’s just an hour where they can get a cup of tea in the UEL cafe.
“At the start we set up a WhatsApp group so we could keep in contact with all the parents easily and update them.
“The feedback we’ve had has been amazing, especially from the young people themselves who have been asking the adults to text us to make sure they’re happening.
“It’s something they really look forward to and it’s fantastic to see.”
Find our more about NASSA’s work here
key details: BGC Charity Day
BGC Group’s Charity Day takes place every year in September with 100% of revenues generated by the firm donated to good causes.
Since it started in 2005, $250million has been raised, $16million this year.
Find out more about the company’ here’s initiative here
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