Dunville’s Whiskey and its CSR history

As Neighbourgood helps clients to kick off their CSR journey, it’s fascinating to look back at a company with a rich history of corporate social responsibility: Dunville’s Irish Whiskey. Founded in the 19th century, Dunville’s wasn’t just about whiskey; it was about making a real difference in the community and in the lives of its employees.

Back in 1873, William Dunville, the visionary behind the company, established the Sorella Trust in memory of his sister Sarah. The goal? To improve housing for the working class. The Trust succeeded in building better homes in the Grosvenor Road area, and even had a street named Sorella Street in its honour.

But Dunville’s Whiskey didn’t stop there. The Sorella Trust also funded education scholarships worth up to £3,000 a year. This investment in education is still making waves today: Queen’s University in Belfast continues to award the Dunville Studentship to two postgraduates each year. That’s a legacy of learning and opportunity that’s withstood for over a century!

Fast forward to 1880, and the directors of Dunville’s Irish Whiskey were thinking about more than just work—they wanted their employees to have a bit of fun too. So, they founded the Distillery Football Club and even built the team’s first football ground by filling in a waste pond at the back of the distillery. The team’s spirit is still alive and kicking today, with The Echlinville Distillery—who revived the production of Dunville’s Whiskey—being the team’s sponsor since the 2016-2017 season.

And if you thought that was generous, wait until you hear about 1890. Dunville’s Whiskey made an incredible donation of 6.5 acres of land and £8,000 (about £1 million in today’s money) to create Dunville Park. This wasn’t just a gift; it was a lifeline for employees and locals living in cramped conditions in the district. Dunville Park, along with Dunville Street and Distillery Street, still stands as a testament to the Dunville family’s commitment to making their community a better place.

Dunville’s Irish Whiskey shows us how a company can go beyond its core business to truly impact lives. From building homes and funding education to creating recreational spaces, their approach to CSR was wide-ranging and heartfelt. It’s a great reminder for us at Neighbourgood as we develop our own CSR strategies for companies across the UK.

Looking back at Dunville’s Whiskey, it’s clear that meaningful CSR isn’t just about writing cheques or making a quick impact—it’s about creating lasting change and investing in the long-term well-being of people and communities. As we set out to make our own mark, we’re inspired by how Dunville’s Whiskey seamlessly integrated its values into every facet of the business.

So, here’s to taking a page from Dunville’s playbook: let’s aim to not only meet immediate needs but also build a legacy of positive, sustainable impact. By doing so, we can follow in the footsteps of a company that didn’t just make whiskey but made a difference.

Engaging employees in CSR

One of the most important elements of creating a successful CSR campaign is engaging and empowering employees through the programme.

We’ve worked on many successful CSR campaigns for global and local brands, and one thing they all have in common is having an engaged workforce.

Your employees should be fully engaged in your CSR campaigns. They should feel empowered to have their say in organisations your business supports and programmes it gets involved in, particularly through volunteering.

Why is this so important?

Businesses might think CSR campaigns start and end with financial donations.

While this is fantastic and should be commended, a truly impactful CSR campaign goes beyond writing a cheque.

An impactful CSR campaign will have a demonstrable impact on a community or a group of people, and this typically involves financial support, logistical support, product donations, volunteering and employee fundraising.

It's difficult to pull all of that off without the support of your employees.

This might sound like a lot of work – and we understand that often, resource in organisations is tight when it comes to putting these programmes in place and measuring their success. However, there are small, incremental steps you can take to engage your employees in your CSR programmes.

Here are some of our top tips to help you achieve that.

Communicate

Whether you have two employees or 20,000, communication is key. Engage your team at the very beginning of your CSR journey.

Explain what’s happening and how they can get involved.

This is simple and doesn’t need to be overly complicated. Here’s a rough guide of what you should be telling them at the start of the CSR programme:

• What you’re doing

• Why you’re doing it

• How they can get involved

• Who to contact for more information

That’s it! Once you’ve done that, it’s time to move on to the next stage.

Engage

Your employees know what you’d like to achieve, and now it’s time to engage them in the programme. We find the most impactful way to do this is to involve them in the process of which organisations or causes you’d like to support.

By offering an opportunity to help decide the direction of your CSR programme, you increase the chances of your employees becoming engaged and helping to drive the programme forward.

A great way to do this is by presenting some options of charities or organisations to support, and then asking employees to vote on causes that matter to them. You can also ask employees which organisations they’d like to support and encourage them to come forward with nominations.

Another benefit of engaging employees in the causes your business should support means they’ll be more like to volunteer or get involved in fundraising. The more this happens, the greater the impact will be for your CSR programme. And it will also be more measurable, which is hugely important – organisations need to understand the impact their programmes are having in the real world.

Execute

You’ve told your employees what you’d like to achieve, and they’ve helped to pick a charity partner. Now it’s time to execute your CSR strategy.

This can take a variety of forms, but these are the most common:

• Volunteering – encourage your team to volunteer with the organisation you’re supporting. Remember – it’s not all about financial donations.

• Fundraising – if an organisation you’re supporting has a national event – for example a coffee morning – then encourage your team to get involved. Match the money they raise.

• Promotion – some charitable organisations, particularly hyper local charities, don’t have a high profile. You can help them to grow their profile, attracting more interest and helping improve their fundraising, by talking about your CSR programme in the press, on your social media channels and through internal communications.

Evaluate

Evaluation is a crucial part of a successful CSR campaign. Did it work? What was the impact? Involving your employees in this is a great idea. How did they feel about it? Do they want to do something similar next time, or move in a different direction?

By getting your team involved in the evaluation of a CSR programme, you will not only make them feel more included, but you’ll get valuable information from the shop floor of your organisation that will help to shape your community relations programmes going forward.

In summary

By taking small steps to communicate and involve your team, your CSR programme will be infinitely more successful. In our experience, the majority of employees at forward-thinking organisations are engaged in CSR programmes. While not everyone wants to play an active role, being a part of the process makes them feel included and gives them the opportunity to talk to others outside your organisation about the great work you’re doing.

Ultimately, the more engaged your business is, the greater the CSR programme will be.

Your company will benefit. Your community will benefit. Your team will benefit.

What makes a good CSR campaign?

If you're new to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), check out our previous blog What is CSR, where Alex discusses all things CSR and why businesses are staring to think more strategically about it.

However, for those more familiar with CSR, we wanted to take a closer look at what makes a GOOD CSR campaign...and where things can go awry...

Essentially, CSR incorporates all the actions a company takes to improve the well-being of its employees, the communities it serves, and the values it stands for.

There are several reasons why a company might opt for a CSR strategy. Such initiatives can boost employee morale, leading to a more engaged, proactive, and efficient team. On top of that, CSR strategies can shape a positive brand image, attracting customers who resonate with the brand's principles.

Additionally, CSR programs ensure that companies act ethically, being accountable to stakeholders and consumers. Most notably, these initiatives enable companies to use their resources and funds to make a lasting impact on society.

Now, that all sounds great...but what makes a CSR campaign successful?

Establish values as a foundation, and take it from there.

A study a few years ago from Cone Communications revealed that 87% of customers are likely to buy a product if a company supports a cause they care about. While 76% would avoid purchasing from a company that backs an issue conflicting with their beliefs.

What a company stands for is becoming increasingly important to consumers.

A decade ago, businesses could rely solely on their products and services, but the landscape has evolved. Nowadays, consumers tend to prefer aligning with companies that share their values, prioritise environmental sustainability, and uphold ethical standards. This shift underscores the growing significance for businesses to define their brand purpose, identify the causes they are passionate about, and establish their core values.

Step one: Spot the sore spots in your community.

The initial step for any company in developing a CSR strategy is to listen actively. By listening to employees, customers, and communities, companies can understand where help is required, identify the most impactful ways to provide support, and determine where resources should be directed. While donating money may appear to be the ideal solution, at times, contributing time or resources can be more impactful.

Get your ducks in a row!

Once a company has identified the necessary assistance and aligned its values with that support, it is essential to develop a clear plan on how to offer help. The process of creating a plan does not have to be complex, and businesses can start with small steps. For instance, if you own a café, have stock to donate to and a nearby food bank and a team willing to deliver the stock, consider the following in your plan:

• Arrange transportation for the stock

• Check the stock's expiry date

• Verify if the food bank has specific acceptance policies

• Determine the delivery schedule

• Plan for the partnership's evolution and frequency

To create well-structured plans, it's beneficial to allow charity and community groups to take the lead, as they are experts in targeting and providing support effectively.

Stay nimble and roll with the punches if the plan veers off course.

Never be afraid to change the plan.

The best way to create an effective CSR campaign is to actively listen to communities about how the support is being received and change the support if needed. To use the previous example of the café, perhaps over the course of three months, the food bank no longer needs supplies of your product but instead needs equipment or volunteers. Being able to quickly and easily change your support to something that is more targeted will further enhance your relationship with charities and community organisations.

Track everything you can.

Like with many areas of businesses, evaluating can be the most effective way of evolving. It is crucial to monitor the impact of your CSR program on the supported individuals, your employees, and your customers – as this is the driving force behind the initiative. Gathering feedback on how the strategy is perceived will guide your future initiatives, refine support levels and focus, and enhance the alignment of employees and customers with your brand's mission. Successful CSR campaigns can be evaluated based on several factors, including:

• Frequency of support

• Relevance of support provided

• Target audience receiving support

• Engagement of community partners

• Trust levels between you and community partners

• Employee engagement

To track this data, businesses can use surveys, social media Q&A sessions, forums, questionnaires, or focus groups. Additionally, companies can enlist the services of agencies like Neighbourgood for impartial assessment of CSR program effectiveness through periodic reporting – monthly, quarterly, or annually.

And remember, don’t forget to let people know.

This is one of the most forgotten areas of a CSR programme.

Many businesses are doing fantastic work to improve their environmental footprint, bolster communities around the world and develop staff but they never talk about it. Forgetting to showcase a CSR programme is a big miss for companies. Discussing your CSR campaign will boost engagement with the programme, enhance accountability and most importantly, get the word out to people who may need to access the support. Companies can do this through dedicated landing pages on websites with lots of information about the programme and blog posts, social media campaigns, newsletters, reports and PR and marketing campaigns.

If you’d like to talk about a CSR programme for your business, get in touch with us at hello@neighbourgood.net.