Two in five charities in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland who want to collaborate with the private sector have yet to find a corporate partner.

The proportion is even more stark in Wales, where three in five are not working with a business in a corporate partnership despite wanting to.

The findings have emerged in a report into charity and private sector collaboration by social value management platform What Impact.

The biggest obstacle for charities to engage with firms is “lack of sufficient funding”, according to more than half of respondents. In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland this was mentioned by more than half of respondents, while in Wales it was cited by seven in ten.

Lack of volunteers was cited by more than one in ten In England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and almost one in five in Wales.

Another obstacle is lack of interest among firms.

Just one in five charities say they have seen an increase in interest from firms to collaborate with them.

There is a “critical need for more effective engagement strategies to bridge the gap” between charities and the private sector,” states the report.

While charities “are keen to partner with private sector organisations” the report adds, “companies must understand" that charities "often rely on restricted grants, leaving them short on funding for essential administrative costs”.

It urges companies to “play a crucial role by providing unrestricted funding, skills, and resources to support” charities, “which ultimately benefits the communities they serve”.

The report details the benefits of business and charity partnerships.

‘The good points are the extra manpower it gives us to get work done,” said one charity about help it received from a local firm’s workforce.

Another charity said: “They provide an invaluable source of skills and expertise as well as providing an opportunity to promote what our charity is about”

But the report warns that corporate volunteers “often only help for a day when many charities need consistent volunteering support”.

This is why “long term partnerships” with businesses are so desirable among charities, the report found.

‘It's always been finite - so one day to get everything done,” said one charity.

Another said: “The time taken to set up the work they did was not much saving on existing people doing it.”

Meanwhile, another charity respondent said that “securing longer-term partnerships is a challenge”.

“Corporate volunteers usually wish to do something on an ad-hoc or one-off basis which is difficult to accommodate.”

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