East London Business Alliance

East London Business Alliance (ELBA) is a British business-community outreach charity[1] promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employee volunteering.[2] A 'partnership of substantial businesses engaged in the social and economic regeneration of East London',[3] it operates in the Boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest, and, under the name the BIG Alliance, in Islington.

East London Business Alliance (ELBA)
TypeNon-profit organization
FocusRegeneration
Employee volunteering
CSR
Location
Area served
Tower Hamlets
Hackney
Newham
Waltham Forest
Islington
WebsiteEast London Business Alliance (ELBA)

ELBA works with over 100 London companies committed to improving their impact on society. Education, local employment,[4] and using business skills in the community are ELBA's three main focus areas.[5]

History

In the 1990s, ELBA was known as the East London Partnership.[6] A smaller group of around 37 companies, its work was focused on business leaders' involvement in local partnerships in Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney.[7]

From 1995, in partnership with The Environment Trust and London Borough of Tower Hamlets, ELBA was involved in the creation of Mile End Park.[8]

In 2012, Islington Giving invited ELBA to create a business-supported employee volunteer programme in Islington, called the Businesses for Islington Giving (BIG) Alliance.[9]

In 2013, ELBA's recruitment agency London Works, launched as a social enterprise to 'help talented people from low income backgrounds into their first role in London’s financial and business services sector', received a £100,000 grant from the Mayor of London's London Enterprise Panel.[10]

Competitors and alternatives

There are a number of alternatives to ELBA which offer corporate volunteering and these include:

  • Benefacto: Which concentrates on offering high-value volunteering experiences for small groups of corporate volunteers
  • Volunteering Matters: Which offers a similar service to ELBA with a wider geographical scope

References
  1. "East London Business Alliance Charity", OpenCharities, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  2. Ball, Stephen J; Junemann, Carolina (2012), Networks, New Governance and Education, p. 89: 'And Man was a founding member of what was called East London Partnership, which became East London Business Alliance, which is a business membership corporate social responsibility organisation focused on the communities in the East End, as the name suggests.', ISBN 9781847429797, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  3. "Harvey McGrath", Mayor's Fund for London, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  4. House of Lords: Select Committee on Economic Affairs (2007), Apprenticeship: a key route to skill, 5th report of session 2006-07, Vol. 2: Evidence, p. 186: '...the East London Business Alliance which runs education and local recruitment programmes in East London for member companies.', ISBN 9780104011157, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  5. Otgaar, Alexander H. J.; Klijs, Jeroen; van den Berg, Leo (2011), Towards Healthy Cities: Comparing Conditions for Change, p. 64: "A good example is the East London Business Alliance which connects businesses in the east of London to the regeneration challenge in the neighbouring communities. Participating firms – such as banks and insurance companies in Canary Wharf – have demonstrated their commitment to concrete projects through sponsoring (financial contributions) but also through contributions in kind such as free financial advice. Employees of financial firms also get the opportunity to help neighbouring residents with acquiring skills and finding a job.', ISBN 9781409420668, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  6. Heinelt, Hubert; Smith, Randall (2003), Sustainability, Innovation and Participatory Governance: A Cross-National Study of the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (Ashgate Studies in Environmental Policy and Practice), p. 95: 'There was a need for a single body providing a coherent business voice for the whole of East London and which comprehensively seeks to address both its economic and social requirements currently and prospectively. The purpose of this new body is to channel the influence, skills and resources of business and to provide a catalyst for the regeneration of the area, for the benefit of all who live and work in East London. ELBA hopes to be a catalyst for economic and social regeneration.', retrieved 2014-09-01.
  7. Carley, Michael; Chapman, Mike; Hastings, Annette; Kirk, Karryn; Raymond, Young (2000), Urban regeneration through partnership: A study in nine urban regions in England, Scotland and Wales (PDF), p. 17: 'ELP links 37 East London and City blue-chip and medium-sized firms and business leaders to local authority partnerships and neighbourhood projects. ELP focuses on strategic regeneration through a main board, concerned with East London as a whole, and on area regeneration through area boards and secondments of business staff to community projects. ELP has a small, paid secretariat. Although the Partnership has hitherto worked at the three borough levels of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Hackney, it is now establishing links to the Thames Gateway Partnership and initiating an East London Business Alliance, chaired by the Chair of Ford UK. ELP is a business partnership which, having first clearly defined its own interests in East London’s development and the way it wants to work, then reaches out to broader partnerships to offer assistance in strategic advice, cash donations and by secondment of business personnel to community groups. Local groups, such as Newham’s Community Links, rate its assistance highly. ELP, having a clear vision and an efficientway of working, gets maximum benefit from the donated time of busy chief executives. The role of a small dedicated staff, funded entirely by the business partners, is vital in ensuring that ELP works to maximum effectiveness.', archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-09-03, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  8. Cherry, Bridget; O'Brien, Charles; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2007), The Buildings of England, London 5: East, pp. 474–475, ISBN 0300107013, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  9. "The BIG Alliance", Islington Giving, retrieved 2014-09-01.
  10. "Mayor backs four new projects to drive jobs and growth in the capital", Greater London Authority, 2 October 2013, retrieved 2014-09-01.


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