A huge thank you to the Bank of England
An incredible £126,000 was raised through our charity partnership which can now be invested into pancreatic cancer early diagnosis research, awareness and campaigning.
Any company supporting a charity partner through the trials of 2020 will know it was no easy feat. Trying to raise money through office fundraising was never going to cut it with staff suddenly working at home. We were lucky that during this extraordinary year, we had an extraordinary partner in The Bank of England. We were delighted in to be nominated as one of their two charity partners for a year, having been nominated by a member of staff who sadly lost two members of his family to the disease.
With so many challenges for staff trying to grapple with volatile markets, virtual ways of working and life generally being turned upside down, it would have been understandable if a charity partnership wasn’t top of staff priorities. But the Bank of England did not lose momentum and together we created a partnership that took on pancreatic cancer on all fronts.
Staff from across the Bank came together to find new and innovative virtual fundraising ideas. We’re so grateful for how they adapted to taking on sporting challenges at home, organising online quiz nights and taking part in virtual raffles and baking competitions. They even managed to turn their Threadneedle Street building purple to support World Pancreatic Cancer Day in November – it looked spectacular.
A highlight of the partnership was when they virtually auctioned off the brand new £20 note in April 2020. 140 lots consisting of notes with a range of early and special serial numbers were sold to buyers around the world with the highest bid for a single note at £7,500. They generously donated the total money raised to our cause – an incredible £47,000! And in a happy coincidence, the note also happened to be a beautiful shade of purple – perfectly on brand for us!
We’re so grateful for the amazing support everyone at The Bank of England has shown us. Despite all the unforeseen obstacles this year, the Bank raised an incredible £126,000 – making this our biggest corporate partnership.
This partnership helped us to speak to new audiences and raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and our expert support and information services. Every penny of the £126,000 raised will be invested into early diagnosis research, awareness and campaigning. It has the potential to improve and save thousands of lives every year.