Belfast Harbour Commissioners
Overview
The Belfast Harbour Commissioners (the Board) Corporate Social Responsibility policy includes supporting community organisations and other charities in the following ways:
- Small Donations
- Floating Donations
- In-kind use of Harbour Commissioners Facilities
- Sponsorship
Their Corporate Responsibility commitment is a strategic objective and forms part of Belfast Harbour's value system. There are four dimensions to Belfast Harbour's Corporate Responsibility Strategy: Young People, Community, Environment and Creative Culture.
Small Donations
Donations are administered by the Communications and Marketing Executive as part of their role to promote the Port of Belfast. Organisations considering an appeal for a donation should contact the Communications and Marketing Executive to ask for an opportunity to present your case for support. It is not necessary to state an amount in the first appeal approach however donations normally fall in the low hundreds and occasionally in the very low thousands.
The Board tends to support specific projects that are of particular appeal to them and aligned to their strategic interests and the theme they choose each year. The theme for each year is normally chosen at the start of the year.
The Board is generally interested in education, marine heritage, the arts and the economy but also supports broader charitable purposes.
Donations are awarded entirely at the discretion of the Board who make probably no more than two donations awards each year.
Recurring or Floating Donations
A small number of organisations receive what they call floating donations (pardon the pun) each year for historic reasons and for there close connections with the Harbour Commissioners. This strand of support is not open for application.
In-Kind Facilities
The Board can provide use of its impressive offices either for free or for a nominal cost to Northern Ireland charities. This must be requested formally in writing to the Chief Executive. Information on the Harbour Commissioners Office is available on their website.
The Port of Belfast site may also be provided for filming, photography , heritage tours and other initiatives.
Sponsorship
Occasionally and depending on resources the Board will consider sponsorship opportunities where there is a strategic interest for them to become involved. Sponsorship is also normally at a nominal level but may involve commitment beyond one year.
Organisations that wish to submit a sponsorship request to Belfast Harbour should be aware that Belfast Harbour will only consider activities or events that are directly aligned with their CR Strategy. All proposals received will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- Alignment with their CR Programme
- Bring about change for individuals and/or communities
- Enable Belfast Harbour to reach target audiences or stakeholders
- Deliver benefits to Belfast and/or Northern Ireland
- Enhance or support Belfast Harbour’s reputation
- Delivers value in relation to outcomes vs. costs
- Concepts should be innovative and original
- The ability to evaluate the impact of the programme
- Contribute to building a sense of pride and of belonging with employees – helping to build the employer of choice concept
See here for example of previous grantees
For more information please contact Jenni Barkley j.barkley@belfast-harbour.co.uk