TBE’s South West Charity Conference & Expo 2023 review

The Business Exchange South West Charity Conference and Expo 2023 was the biggest and best to date.

With pent up demand for more networking events across the region, the 5th annual event brought together businesses, charities and individuals for a packed day of learning, connecting and sharing.

With seminars throughout the day complemented by an expo featuring an eclectic mix of corporate and third sector organisations, the event drew hundreds of people to Bath Racecourse from across the country.

Event founder and Editor of The Business Exchange, Anita Jaynes, said, “Here in the South West we’re making a buzz about the amazing work of charities here and flying the flag as collaborators too.

“Collaboration starts with asking questions and igniting the conversation, so we’re proud to be providing a forum where businesses, individuals and charities can come together on the same level to start discussions, learn from each other and forge meaningful partnerships for the benefit of the entire community.”

The day kicked off with a networking breakfast. A panel featuring Anita Jaynes, Digital Wonderlab Founder Nathan Baranowski, Deputy CEO of Wiltshire Air Ambulance Barbara Grey and philanthropist and entrepreneur James Phipps discussed the merits of, and opportunities surrounding, collaboration between businesses and third sector organisations.

“Collaborations are about partnerships – it’s about walking into a space like this and being there as equals. At Digital Wonderlab we pride ourselves on being available and open to have conversations to understand needs. Events like this are really important – places where people can go and ask a question.

“It has to start with pause, think and connect – open up and bring people in. As leaders, we need this kind of space.

“From a tech point of view, good tech makes our lives easier. If it doesn’t do that, we shouldn’t use it.

“We need to think about how we can use tech to help us engage and do things in a better way. We need to purposefully look at how we use it to help us.”

“Nathan Baranowski, Founder, Digital Wonderlab

“Charities need different help at different times, sometimes it’s a cheque, sometimes manpower and sometimes being a trustee to help drive engagement.

“We all know the UK has massive challenges, all these can’t be fixed by the public sector, or by charities or businesses by themselves. We have to find a way of coming together as a collective to solve these problems.

“It makes good business sense to help solve problems in your community.

“We need to provide more environments like this conference to bring people together. The conversations that have a genuine impact are not had without a forum like this. It’s about engagement and providing environments like this where people can talk without pressure. We need to provide this type of environment more to allow people to make meaningful connections.”

James Phipps, Chairman, SMARTEch Energy

Seminars throughout the day included:

• Charities Vital Signs Report with Quartet Community Foundation
• Finance FAQs with Milsted Langdon
• Inflation risk and cash reserves with RBC Brewin Dolphin
• Collaboration at Work with Stone King
• Talking Mental Health with James Gwinnett former rugby player and SAS: Who Dares Wins contestant.
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion taster workshop with Bath Rugby Foundation
• Growing your social media presence organically with Black Nova Designs
• An introduction to smartphone filmmaking and photography with Compass Video

Here are some of the key takeaways and quotes from the day.

“Children are facing disadvantage all over our region. In the UK, the richest people increased their share of income in the year 2021-2022.

“We’re seeing a greater divide and more people experiencing poverty in our local area.

“Our research into philanthropy has highlighted a range of issues related to the cost-of-living crisis. The most severe impact is in poorer families.

“Stats on their own can feel pretty depressing but there is lots of good work going on in communities to help.

“We need to celebrate and grow philanthropy to sustain community organisations doing so much to help people in need in our area.”

Lucy Gilbert, Head of Research and Learning, Quartet Community Foundation

“We’re delighted to be involved in the event. It’s important to bring charities and businesses together. It’s key to charities to work with businesses to allow them to have the greatest impact they can. Bringing two types of organisations together can ultimately help charity beneficiaries and have a greater impact on our communities.

“We were pleased to be able to deliver a session on Collaboration at Work focusing on how collaboration techniques can benefit the workplace and third sector organisations.

“Stone King is committed to delivering impact through its own work and advising clients who are similarly committed. We have been based in Bath for 250 years, we have a deep-rooted connection to the community and part of our mission is to improve the lives of those in it.

Peter Woodhouse, Head of Business and Social Enterprise, Stone King

“As one of the founding sponsors, it’s fantastic to have people travelling across the country to this event in Bath. It speaks volumes about the quality of the event. The conference started because there was a need for it and we have been staggered by the response.

“From our perspective as a firm, we have a charitable ethos. We see the importance of using our knowledge to help charities. We’re a relatively big organisation and have decided that every member of staff has a day a year, fully paid, which they can donate to charity. It’s the right thing to do and it  helps us retain staff and supports the communities in which we operate.

“Charities need to engage with businesses and that’s exactly what this event allows.”

Gill Freeman, Partner and Head of Charity and Not-for-Profit, Milsted Langdon

“I was a founding Director of Bath BID and my role was to knock on 650 doors and convince businesses that the BID was a good idea – it was about supporting the community and working in collaboration for the betterment of the city and its surrounds.

“The Business Exchange has always been keen to support the community of Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire and I’m a believer in collaborations for the betterment of a region and its people.

“It’s about bringing partners together, the contacts they can make and the doors they can open. When charities and third sector organisations are brought together its about more than just money.

“The ethos of this whole day is that even the smallest charity can benefit, mixing with big organisations and all working together as equals.

“This is about the South West, not just about Bath. It’s great that it’s growing and expanding and long may it continue to do so.”

Leslie Redwood, Head of Charities Business Development, RBC Brewin Dolphin

Event sponsors Alexandra Steffensen, Stone King (far left), Gill Freeman, Milsted Langdon, Les Redwood, RBC Brewin Dolphin (far right) with Anita Jaynes, Founder of The Business Exchange (centre)

“As a smaller charity its difficult to raise our profile unless we collaborate with others. We have found that collaboration has been an amazing experience for us. When we get together with other organisations we can help more people because we are working together. This event is a wonderful example of people collaborating, connecting with each other, referring and realising what is out there to help our communities.”

Lizzie Heffer, We Get It

“We’re thrilled to be part of the Business Exchange event today; it’s great to network and meet other organisations which there might be potential to collaborate with and to share our mission to support disabled people to experience greater independence and live the life they choose.”

Ellie Griffies Weld, Philanthopy Manager, Designability

“It’s great to be here connecting with like-minded charities, businesses and individuals to support our region’s third sector organisations. In today’s world, working together and making meaningful connections is key for charities, and this conference and expo helps us to do exactly that.

Jo Common, Julia’s House

“Collaboration can be sensitive and political. But its about taking individuals on that journey with you and creating a culture that’s inclusive. We need work environments where we can strive and thrive to be the best they can be and you can’t achieve that without collaboration.”

Mina Jesa, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Specialist & Trainer

“Collaboration is about sharing that seat of power. It can be a huge positive for an organisation but you have to plan it – it doesn’t happen by accident.”

Peter Woodhouse, Head of Business and Social Enterprise Section, Stone King

“The difference between success and failure is mental fitness.

“We’re all different. For me mental fitness is the ability to get through the challenges we face on a daily basis – life’s ups and downs, the rollercoaster of life. It’s managing difficult situations without emotions overwhelming us and having the awareness to recognise the good situations and the benefits they bring.

“The more that we can respond positively to situations that cause us stress, the more we can get joy out of life generally. Mental fitness is key to unlocking that.”

James Gwinnett

Anita Jaynes Founder of The Business Exchange with keynote speaker James Gwinnett, Associate Director, Clearly PR

The day was made possible thanks to the support of event sponsors Milsted Langdon, Stone King and RBC Brewin Dolphin.