Even if you are just starting to think about Corporate Social Responsibility you will soon discover that it can be a complicated business. And yet more and more customers are beginning to enquire about your policy regarding social engagement.

Becoming a member of the 3 Sector Match scheme can help ease the burden of finding ways of demonstrating your support for your local community. It can also bring other benefits such as:

• providing a visible demonstration of your CSR commitment through the use of the 3SM logo, recognized by other businesses and bodies such as Gloucestershire County Council, the District Councils and Gloucestershire First.

• B2B networking with regular get togethers to meet other businesses. Recent free events in June and July include a supper in Gloucester, a barbeque at Colesbourne Park at the high profile Gloucestershire Village of the Year and a range of Business Breakfasts in Cheltenham, Stroud and Gloucester.

• increasing your market share – many charities have significant procurement budgets

• helping you manage your companies time and resources by enabling you to ringfence, and measure, charitable support – in other words, helping you to make those critical choices between the hundreds of requests you get from charities every year.