Philanthropy
Helping charities and community groups is important to us. We are proud to partner with organisations making a difference in many of your communities.
Our guiding principles
Baillie Gifford supports charity and community organisations across the world. We do it because it is the right thing to do: we have a responsibility to help our communities and we want to support organisations making a difference.
The Philanthropy Team looks after this activity, working with over 150 charity and community groups annually. We have three guiding principles:
1. Our community engagement is purely philanthropic
We are motivated by helping people, not by marketing or advertising benefits. We focus on supporting grassroots projects. We prioritise those who may find it harder to seek funding elsewhere.
2. We apply a long-term perspective to everything we do.
Rather than looking for a short-term fix, we work with charities over multiple years, supporting their growth and long-term development.
3. Our staff are at the heart of our charitable giving.
We want Baillie Gifford to be a place where people can make a difference and value the opportunity to do so.
Charities we support
Meet the team
As Baillie Gifford’s Philanthropy Team, we manage the partnership’s charitable giving. We work with a committee of staff subgroups spanning arts, community, grassroots sports, health and education, international, natural environment and social causes.
Most of our philanthropy is focused on charities working in Scotland, where we are headquartered. But we are a global company and we have increased our giving overseas. Our international offices in Amsterdam, Dublin, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Krakow, New York, Shanghai, Toronto and Zurich all support local causes chosen by their staff.
We strive to be open, honest, approachable and transparent, providing help where it is needed the most.
Staff giving
Each year, staff nominate and vote for a Charity of the Year. We then fundraise for the chosen charity through staff events and initiatives. We also look to support the charity in other ways. That can include volunteering and mentoring, training resources, design and printing, and technology support.
Staff can also make a difference through our Charity of your Choice programme, where they nominate a charity to receive a £1,000 grant. The initiative runs three times a year, with the Philanthropy Committee approving about 50 grants each round. Since launching in 2017, our staff have helped 650 charities across the world.
Propose your charity for support
We are happy to hear from charities looking for support, so please get in touch if your organisation is making a difference and you think Baillie Gifford could help.