The November CMPP Partners meeting was a celebration of business and community collaboration. Activities in 2018 had funded numerous important Youth Aspiration Projects in Rushmoor. Partners came together to network, share their experiences of community engagement and hear about the exciting events planed for 2019 – the year that will see CMPP reach a landmark fundraising figure of £1 million.
Over 50 people from 30+ organisations came together at The Village Hotel in Farnborough for the latest Community Matters Partnership Project (CMPP) Partners and Networking meeting. Represented were: A Plan Insurance, Army Golf Club, BMW Group UK, Branston Adams, BxBy, Eagle Radio, Ed2Biz, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough International, Fluor, FDR Promotions, Grainger PLC, Hudson Shribman, Memiah, Rushmoor Borough Council, SATRO, Sixth Sense Marketing, Somethingbig, TAG Farnborough Airport, The 6th Form College Farnborough, UKCloud, Village Hotels and Windsor Telecom.
The meeting was hosted by CMMP Founder Tracy Jarvis, who provided an inspiring update about recent projects that had raised money for the Rushmoor Youth Aspiration Fund and outlined an even more ambitious activities programme for 2019/20 providing opportunities for engagement and collaboration in events such as: St Patrick’s Day Quiz (March) Runway Challenge at Farnborough Airport (June) Halloween Party (October) World Kindness Dress Down Day (November) Festive Xmas Fiesta (December) These events give people who work for CMPP partner companies the opportunity to take part in fun activities, meet new people from different organisations and make a difference to the community in which they work and live. It is made possible only because of the insight and generosity of their employers, who understand the broader business benefits of community engagement.
On the subject of engagement, Katy Marlow, who runs marketing and community activities at Farnborough Business Park gave a brilliant talk about the activity sessions they arrange that bring tenants together (who would otherwise not meet), to participate in various activities during the year. A recent example is a wreath making class one lunchtime. There’s a nominal fee(that goes to CMPP) and people get to manke and take home a wreath for a fraction of the price if they were to buy one. Plus it’s a great story when people visit at Christmas.
Next, Nick Shrimpton of Sixth Sense Marketing outlined different ways that partner organisations can promote their association with CMPP. These included reciprocal website links, the CMPP logo printed on member’s collatera and sharing and re-cycling CMPP social media content. He explained that if partners could each do just a little bit more, between them that would help CMPP’s profile considerably, compared to other good causes also looking to attract support. The final element of the morning was a round table networking session. Discussions around the table provided some fascinating insight. It was noted that a lot of networking in the traditional sense was ‘forced’. People were there for what they could get out of it. CMPP partners come together, all with a similar value set – that business is successful when communities are successful. Collaboration between CMMP partners is a more logical choice because CMPP and its values are what brings everyone together.
The meeting ended with a rallying cry to push in the months ahead to get the final few thousand pounds needed to take the overall fundraising amount since CMPP started, to over £1,000,000. This begins on 7 December with the Christmas Jumper appeal in collaboration with Eagle Radio. Donate a Pound to CMPP, and take a selfie using the hash tag #getchristmassyforyourcommunity. Thanks to Tracy and the whole CMPP team for a fun, educational and beneficial morning.
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