Community: Charity
As a firm we have always believed that we have an obligation to give back to our community – it is a tradition that originated with our founder, Arthur Cox himself.
We do this through our work with charities, our support of educational institutions, our volunteering activities, and our commitment to pro bono legal work. Over the years we have refined our programmes, and we are continuously looking for ways to improve how we can have a meaningful impact on society through the various strands of our community-focused programmes.
Charity Fundraising
Over the course of FY23/24 we have concentrated our fundraising efforts on a reduced, but more focused, number of charity fundraising events.
This has allowed us to punctuate the year with fundraising activities and challenges that had excellent participation rates from our staff. Over the course of the year 516 of our people, across all areas of the firm, contributed to our collective charity fundraising activities, generously giving 2,763 hours of their time to do so.
Our Charity Partnerships
We have continued working this year with our three charity partners: A Lust for Life, Children’s Health Foundation and Women’s Aid. These charities have been selected for support by our staff for a three-year period and we are proud to partner with them until the end of 2025.
Our charity partnership model involves more than just financial support – we also often help with pro bono work, volunteering and event support. We strive to build impactful relationships with our selected charities by working closely with them to identify the ways in which we can best support their work.
We encourage our staff to raise funds collectively during the year, and over the last 12 months we have organised three major fundraising events which have included a rowing and cycling challenge, a Christmas jumper day and a 10-day walking challenge. These events bring our firm together to have some fun, but most importantly, they help our charity partner organisations do what they do best – help young people navigate mental health in today’s world, enhance the lives of sick children and their families, and prevent and address the impact of domestic violence.
Legacy Charity Partners
In addition to our three-year charity partnerships, the firm also has some longer terms relationships with other charities for legacy reasons. These include: Boardmatch, Rethink Ireland, various educational partners and the Law Society’s Calcutta Run events.
BOARDMATCH
In 2023, we confirmed our support of Boardmatch for another three years. Boardmatch is the only Irish charity that specialises in not-for-profit board recruitment and was founded by Mary Redmond, RIP, a former partner at Arthur Cox. Over the past year our staff have not only engaged with Boardmatch on board positions of interest, but they have also engaged in specialist trustee/board director training courses that are run by Boardmatch.
“Boardmatch is pleased to continue its charity partnership with Arthur Cox into 2024. Over the past 12 months, Boardmatch has experienced significant growth thanks to the support from Arthur Cox. We reported a 10% increase in board appointments and a 40% rise in training participation. We welcomed seven Arthur Cox employees to our Charity Trustee Training programme and look forward to seeing them join boards through the Boardmatch website or Charity Speed-Dating event.
In 2023, we also launched the highly anticipated Future Leaders Programme in collaboration with The Leadership Academy. This programme aims to encourage diverse candidates, who have traditionally been underrepresented on Irish charity boards, to pursue board opportunities. It also seeks to introduce charities to candidates they may have previously overlooked due to age, background, or experience level.
We also hosted our fourth Charity Speed Dating event in Dublin, where 54 charities participated in search of new trustees for their boards. This two-hour event successfully resulted in 41 board appointments. In 2025, Boardmatch will celebrate 20 years of strengthening boards in the charity and non-profit sector. We look forward to commemorating this milestone with Arthur Cox, a longstanding supporter.”
Eva Gurn, Chief Executive Officer, Boardmatch
RETHINK IRELAND
We also continue to support Rethink Ireland, as it helps to identify and support charities and social enterprises working in communities across the country. In the last 12 months our staff have engaged with Rethink on various activities that include the review of funding applications and the participation on awardee judging and advisory panels.
CALCUTTA RUN 2024
Once again in 2024 we were a key supporter of the Calcutta Run, the legal fundraiser which raised funds for The Hope Foundation and Dublin Simon Community this year. We were delighted to have so many of our people involved in the various activities: golf, tennis, tag rugby and running.
