Local philanthropist and entrepreneur James Phipps, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Digital Wonderlab will come together to talk collaboration for success at The Business Exchange South West Charity Conference and Expo networking breakfast on Thursday 15th June at Bath Racecourse.
The trio are kicking off the day’s collaboration theme looking at how we can all work together, charities, not for profits, businesses and individuals for the success of our community.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist, James Phipps
James Phipps is a well-known local entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is best known for his work as director of Swindon-based IT and communications business Excalibur. With his direction, Excalibur was recognised as a Times Top 100 Employer, achieved the Investors in People accreditation, and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities in the South West region.
Today James is Chairman of Chippenham-based SMARTech Energy which helps businesses and organisations to identify and deliver energy efficiencies and savings whilst helping to save the planet. He is also a patron for Swindon 105.5 Community Radio station and has served as a trustee on a number of charity boards including, Wiltshire Air Ambulance, The Platform Project youth development social enterprise and Wiltshire Community Foundation.
Wiltshire Air Ambulance is a lifesaving charity providing emergency service to the people of Bath, Wiltshire and the surrounding areas. It has been serving the local community for over 30 years, 365 days a year thanks to its donors and fundraisers. It needs £4m a year to operate and is known for its innovation in fundraising.
In 2017, Wiltshire Air Ambulance launched its 100 Club for businesses with all those who signed up pledging to raise £10,000 over two years, Excalibur and Digital Wonderlab (then known as Ojo Solutions) were both founding members and the club has been highly successful.
Since then, Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Digital Wonderlab have continued to work together. Digital Wonderlab is a multi-award winning, digital social impact agency. It helps businesses and charities to maximise for digital good. From defining their digital strategy to designing and building websites and mobile apps. Its clients include The Disabilities Trust., deafPLUS, Dorothy House Hospice Care, The Carers’ Centre, The Fire Fighters Charity and Cerebal Palsy Cymru.
The team built an interactive mobile game for Wiltshire Air Ambulance called Helifun, which challenges players to keep their helicopter in the air as long as possible, avoiding obstacles along the way.
Digital Wonderlab have also fundraised for Wiltshire Air Ambulance in a number of ways, including Nathan Baranowski, Chief Executive Officer, taking part in an ultra-marathon raising £4k.
Barbara Gray, Deputy Chief Executive at Wiltshire Air Ambulance
At the breakfast James Phipps, Barbara Gray, Deputy Chief Executive at Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Nathan Baranowski, Chief Executive Officer at Digital Wonderlab will discuss how collaboration has driven success, not just for the charity, but for the wider community and business culture as Wiltshire Air Ambulance gets set to launch its new The Business Club.
We invite businesses, charities, not for profits, community organisations and individuals to come along and learn more about collaborating for the success of our communities.
The breakfast takes place 8:30-10am ahead of the expo opening and will be held in the Royal Crescent suite at Bath Racecourse.
To get your tickets click here.
The Business Exchange South West Charity Conference is now in its fifth year and is the only event of its kind in the South West region. It’s designed for businesses, charities and not for profits, to connect, share learnings and go for growth.
What past delegates have said…..
“As a charity we don’t often get the opportunity to interact with businesses. It was a revelation to see how important and beneficial it is to foster symbiotic relationships between the two. I found the speakers all very relevant and insightful too.”
“The speakers were very informative – I came away with much food for thought on how we might improve practice in our organisation.”
“Great mixture of businesses and charities. Good networking, friendly people. An event filling a gap in the South West.”
“The whole event was well organised with a great buzz all day.”
“It was a truly brilliant event. We left inspired and motivated.”
Pictured above: Nathan Baranowski, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Wonderlab
