With Ireland still reeling from the financial crisis of 2008, a group of people within the funds sector came together across 2013 and 2014, seeking to find a way to help. This led to the creation of basis.point, a charity aimed at improving educational opportunities for all.
“The industry had a good trajectory at a time when Ireland as a whole really didn’t,” says Edel O’Malley, chief executive of basis.point. “Ultimately the focus we decided on was education because it really is key to breaking cycles of poverty,”
“That led to engagement with the funds community to form what is now basis.point, which focuses on key areas of educational disadvantage. We never wanted to be a quick fix; our goal was on sustainable change. That requires big investment and a long-term commitment.”
The charity asks its supporters to commit on a multiyear basis. This isn’t just about maximising what basis.point raises, it’s also so that it can strategically plan what it is doing with its charity partners.
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“We work with our partners for a minimum of three years and we’re with some of them for seven or eight years now. The process has evolved into strategic partnerships with these educational charities,” says O’Malley.
“We work closely with them to understand the challenges facing young people in the world today and the barriers they face.”
Charities supported by basis.point include Foróige, the Early Learning Initiative, and Teen-Turn.
“We also work with Archways. It’s not well known but it works with teachers in classrooms to help deliver programmes. We recently started work with Soar to help deliver assistance on mental health resilience,” says O’Malley.
“With any programme, we want to give significant donations and grants to help them to really scale. When you are funding programmes, you need to be able to give them the assurance they need that their programmes have the support to continue to grow.”
The support provided by basis.point extends beyond financial assistance to also getting the Irish funds sector involved on the ground with the partner charities.
“This is built on volunteering. From our board through to subcommittees, to individual volunteers, it’s huge support from within the industry. The corporate and individual patrons have become so invested that they want to give back,”
“This can range from skill-sharing, like helping the charities with legal and financial management, to actually engaging employees within each of the corporate partners to provide support. That goes from reading clubs to mentoring, to even cleaning an environment.”
Those who have taken part in these projects have found them to be a valuable and worthwhile experience.
“Employees at Walkers have participated in a wide range of basis.point events. Over the years, Walkers employees have also signed up as individual patrons or supporters. The experience for employees at Walkers has been incredibly rewarding,” says Nicholas Blake-Knox, partner at Walkers Global.
“I had the opportunity to meet with a number of the co-ordinators and participants in Foróige’s network for teaching entrepreneurship programme as part of an Irish Funds Council visit to Cork. It was incredibly inspiring to hear from the young participants on this programme and to see first hand the contribution that basis.point was making in the community.”
These in-person meetings are important for educating the corporate partners about what challenges need to be tackled, says O’Malley.
“We’re working hard to engage our donors. We want them to meet the charities and speak with people on the programmes. It puts colour to the picture,” she says.
Although basis.point is barely a decade old, the charity has already managed to reach out extensively across the education support sector. O’Malley is keen to ensure it remains on top of the issues young people face.
“The challenges faced by children from underrepresented groups really are varied. We’ve had to become quite agile as a result. That has come from working closely with charity partners,” she says.
“As an organisation, we’ve really grown to engage in the academic world, identifying the next challenges and working out where we can be a player in making that change.”
