What is the 'third sector' and how can we help?
The ‘third sector’ is an umbrella term that covers a variety of different organisations with different legal structures and purposes, belonging neither to the public sector (i.e. the state) nor to the private sector (profit-making private enterprise).
As a business, we are heavily focussed on supporting third sector organisations both in our local communities on local issues and also internationally.
Charities, non-profit organisations (NPOs) and voluntary organisations are increasingly required to plug the gap and perform the social and cultural functions formerly carried out by the public sector.
The importance of the third sector to public life was brought into sharp focus by the Covid-19 pandemic with a significant increase in the demand for services supporting the health and wellbeing of society. During this time we saw activity levels in this space increase with organisations expanding and new organisations being formed.
Our clients in this area tend to either focus on a particular group in society (such as those suffering from a particular illness or condition) or on a particular issue or problem that needs to be solved (such as domestic abuse, access to education or climate change).
Many of our staff sit on the governing bodies of third sector organisations giving their time, energy and expertise to assist in the delivery of the organisations' purposes.
Ways in which we support this sector include:
- provision of legal services – we draft constitutional documents, assist in the acquisition/sale of premises, draft employment contracts, deal with disputes, implement changes to the governing body, advise on compliance with law/regulation etc
- trustee and administration services – our in-house trust and corporate services company already administers several local and international charities
- Charity of the year –we select a charity of the year in each of our jurisdictions with whom we work closely and fundraise for. If you would like to nominate your organisation as our next charity of the year please get in touch here.
- volunteering – each year our staff are given at least one day a year where they can devote their time in support of the third sector – recent examples include meals on wheels, beach cleans etc.
- sponsorship – we often formally partner with, or sponsor, third sector organisations where their culture and values are aligned with ours.
- profile raising – when we support third sector organisations in any of the above we will, where appropriate and with permission, share our experiences on social media and help to raise the profile of those organisations.
