Charity trading arm joins big names in awards line-up

A charity’s trading arm is earning a national reputation for delivering practical support to the growing numbers of people in need of emergency assistance across the UK.

Local authorities, charities and housing associations are increasingly turning to Family Fund Business Services to provide them with cost-effective and easy access to thousands of essential products including white goods, furniture, energy vouchers, cash and food vouchers. These are then dispatched to people, including veterans and refugees, struggling financially to meet their most basic needs.

This rising reputation for trusted expertise and a focus on customer service as they deliver this support, has led to Family Fund Business Services being shortlisted for a top national award.

It is the only social enterprise to make the grade in the UK Customer Satisfaction Awards as a trusted quality provider- alongside corporate household names such as IBM, Next and Suzuki GB.

The awards event on 7 March is one of the most prestigious for customer service excellence across all industries in the UK.

Family Fund Business Services was established to generate additional funding for its parent charity Family Fund, the UK’s largest grant-making charity for families with disabled and seriously ill children, on low income.

Family Fund supports families with grants for essential items such as kitchen appliances, clothing, bedding, sensory toys, computers and tablets, much-needed family breaks and more.

Last year, the charity provided over 170,919 grants and services worth over £37 million to families across the UK. 

Now in its tenth year, Family Fund Business Services, which gifts 100% of its profits to Family Fund, has generated over £9 million in total from its expertise in procuring essential goods on behalf of over 40 organisations.

Phil Henderson, Director of Family Fund Business Services, said:

“Our clients include local authorities and major national charities supporting people in the greatest need. 

“The fact they choose us again and again to procure and supply urgently-required essential goods such as beds and cookers, demonstrates their trust in us and the quality of our service. 

“Once they work with us they stay with us – and recommend us to others. We are therefore extremely pleased to be in the shortlist for this top customer service award as a trusted provider.

“We really care about how we look after our customers and the people who receive the goods and services we provide, and we measure this every year through a customer survey. 

“It’s great that these measures are confirmed by this external nomination for an award, and a real honour for an organisation of our size to be alongside the household names that are also on the shortlist.”

The value of grants fulfilled by Family Fund Business Services for clients in the last financial year (2021-22) was over £75M, more than triple the value delivered in 2019-20.

Home-Start Hampshire:

“We would thoroughly recommend working with FFBS as we have found the relationship to be invaluable in running our project, helping us distribute support to families across Hampshire.”

North Yorkshire County Council Local Assistance Fund:

“… above and beyond every time ….so proud of what we have able to do together for … those in North Yorkshire that need this support the most. Wonderfully efficient and hardworking dedicated team to the cause.”

Phil Henderson added: “Our unique business model means that we deliver social value twice over – our profits extend Family Fund’s vital grant-giving and at the same time our expertise with securing value-for-money contracts with suppliers, helps to extend the funding of other organisations. They can, then, help even more people facing hardship.

“What emerges from this is a unique model that drives real social change through collaborative working.”