It’s not just about profit! FinanceFeeds to meet Lord Mayor of London on City Giving Day

Philanthropy is a well and truly ingrained part of British culture.

The nation’s special interest groups, individuals and social organizations are world renowned for being modest yet generous, however when it comes to the ability to raise large sums for good causes, the financial services industry in London stands proud.

Conservative business ethic and entrepreneurism has dominated London’s Square Mile for the past 400 years, building the largest and most imperial banking system in the world, which then paved the extremely solid path toward the modern, Tier 1 electronic trading divisions of all major banks with the highest market share in the world to rise from the former industrial marshlands on the Isle of Dogs.

Today. London’s financial center is the largest in the world and controls 69% of all electronic trading globally. It is, however, highly philanthropic, and this is to be celebrated tomorrow by City stakeholders alongside Peter Estlin, the Lord Mayor of London.

The Lord Mayor of London is an Alderman position, and is not to be confused with the Mayor of London. Sadiq Khan is the political mayor, responsible for the 33 boroughs and has no standing in the business or financial sector.

Peter Estlin, on the other hand, is a powerful figure indeed.

As Lord Mayor of London, he the City’s mayor and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City of London, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powers, rights and privileges, including the title and style The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London.

One of the world’s oldest continuously elected civic offices, it is entirely separate from the directly-elected Mayor of London, whose political office controls a budget covering the much larger area of Greater London.

The Lord Mayor’s main role nowadays is to represent, support and promote the businesses and residents in the City of London. Today these businesses are mostly in the financial sector, and the Lord Mayor is regarded as the champion of the entire UK-based financial sector regardless of ownership or location throughout the country. As leader of the Corporation of the City of London, the Lord Mayor serves as the key spokesman for the local authority and also has important ceremonial and social responsibilities.

Canary Wharf, and is an annual celebration of charity and philanthropy.

The Lord Mayor of London’s office has invited FinanceFeeds to attend, and explained to us “There’s a whole range of activities planned from businesses across London, and we’re excited to be organising such a worthwhile and beneficial event. Last year, those involved inspired up to 5,000 new volunteers to offer their time, raised more than £450,000 for good causes and highlighted some of the exceptional charitable activity that takes place throughout the year. 95% of participants said that they would recommend the day to others. This year is set to be bigger and better than ever.”

This event, taking place tomorrow, Tuesday 24 September 2019, celebrates the value of the City to society and shows how businesses can make a difference. It champions activities – whether CSR, philanthropy, or volunteering initiatives – that companies undertake as part of their commitment to supporting charity, society, the community and the environment in which they work.

The campaign is a chance for employers to talk to staff, recognise achievements and plan even better community engagement in the future, whether in the form of mentoring, fundraising or volunteering vital expertise.

Interestingly, the Lord Mayor’s office considers that the City has a reputation for being very corporate and straight laced, and intends this event to show a side to the businesses and firms that is more community focused and concentrates on bringing about real impact.

“It’s part of the multi-year strategy A Better City for All. Focused on four key pillars, the strategy aims to create a City that is Inclusive, Health, Skilled and Fair, with the objective of helping 1 million people thrive” said the Lord Mayor.

The City Giving Day, as it is known, is to be held at Canary Wharf, however the Lord Mayor’s office has promised that it will also “bring a bit of colour to the Square Mile with its ‘Go Red’ theme, with many firms across the City and beyond set to show their support and celebrate their philanthropic work by wearing red for the day.”

“There are plenty of fun filled ways organisations can get involved whether through static Wattbike challenges in the City and Canary Wharf, joining in a City Walk, exploring the city through the Treasure Hunt, taking part in a Quiz Night, or simply celebrating the good work that City forms already do with their charity partners” the office said.

The Lord Mayor commented “City Giving Day is a simple, but impactful, initiative that enables City companies and employees to celebrate and showcase their philanthropic and volunteering achievements.”

“As Lord Mayor, I am very much looking forward to building on the success of 2018 to encourage even more City organisations to get involved in City Giving Day, sharing their stories to demonstrate the transformational impact of bringing together businesses, employees, communities and charities” he said.

The Lord Mayor will also be fundraising for the three Lord Mayor’s Appeal’s charities on the day:

• Place2Be – the support will help them delivering a transformational mental health programme in 180 schools in London.
• OnSide Youth Zones – the partnership will enable the charity to build 5 new state of the art Youth Zones in areas of high deprivation in London.
• Samaritans – our partnership has enabled Samaritans to develop a revolutionary online wellbeing programme for employees in London and beyond.At the event in September the Lord Mayor will take to the streets of the Square Mile and Canary Wharf, visiting participating firms and learning more about their innovative projects. FinanceFeeds will be there during the course of the day.