British upmarket retailer Marks and Spencer has selected Neighbourly, the social platform that connects local community projects with companies that want to make a difference, to support its nationwide Spark Something Good campaign, part of the retailer's Plan A, a sustainable business plan which is designed to enhance lives, every day.
Neighbourly provides M&S with a single platform through which to promote the campaign on a national scale. All stores will each use the software to select, manage and promote their fundraising activities with their local community causes of choice in the year ahead.
Launched by Joanna Lumley and M&S CEO Marc Bolland, the initiative aims to inspire colleagues and 34 million customers to help their local communities and improve lives up and down the country.
M&S stores have already used Neighbourly to select and promote the local cause they wish to support as their Charity of the Year. Causes already being supported range from a mental health charity in Northern Ireland, to a children’s cancer charity in Brighton, to an animal rescue shelter in Malvern.
The platform simplifies the task of firstly finding a local cause, and then selecting and managing participation. Transparency is also improved through better reporting of all local activities, the funds raised and impact achieved, both locally by each store and also nationally.
Speaking about Neighbourly, Mike Barry, director of Plan A at Marks & Spencer, commented, “They’ve brought us connections with the community and helped us identify the projects we want to work with. And because they’re a digital platform, we’re able to show what M&S stores are able to do together rather than every store having its own, isolated story. Together we’re truly stronger, and Neighbourly’s at the heart of that.”
Nick Davies, founder of Neighbourly, said, “Plan A is a benchmark for best practice in corporate citizenship, so helping M&S manage and deliver their engagement with hundreds of grassroots causes is an important endorsement for the benefits of using the Neighbourly platform. The London launch has already demonstrated how inspiring and effective the Spark Something Good initiative is going to be.
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