Developing a corporate support strategy with Unseen

People who have suffered through modern slavery, exploitation and human trafficking often face long and difficult journeys towards rebuilding their lives.

That is what Bristol-based charity Unseen try and combat, by supporting survivors and offering them a safe space to recover their self-esteem, build their confidence and gain the skills they need for their future independence.

And thanks to support through the Lloyds Bank Foundation Enhance programme, the charity has partnered up with CAF’s advisory team to develop a corporate support strategy to help them continue deliver their impactful work.

Working in partnership

Advisory manager James Moon worked closely with the charity to understand their priorities and develop a bespoke plan to support its development and longevity.

Speaking about the collaboration, Hannah Young, Lead Fundraising Manager from Unseen said the charity has since been able to put more concerted efforts into a new area of fundraising, with corporates.

Thanks in part to the work with CAF, the charity now has a dedicated team who work with corporate partners.

She added: “The project has had a genuine value add. We are at a point in time where we are growing in terms of charity goals and fundraising goals and it has been really interesting working with James.

“Aside from making several suggestions that we will be taking on and applying in the future, he had data and analysis to benchmark where we are at and helped us create targets to deliver on to make sure our goals are realistic. He also demonstrated why it is important to make use of corporate fundraisers, backed by stats and thorough research. We never had a dedicated person doing this before and he re-iterated that we were indeed moving in the right direction.”

She said the work with CAF’s advisory expert also helped tap into new avenues that were previously not on the agenda, adding:

“There was also a suggestion of offering mindfulness seminars to employers that we are working with, which is something we currently exclusively provide to our beneficiaries. We had not thought of this before, and it’s yet another example of making the most of the skills we have in-house to bolster our corporate offer.” 


Rebuilding lives

Unseen run 24/7 safe houses and an outreach service for both women and men who are survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking. They also opened the UK’s first safe accommodation project for trafficked children this year.

Taking referrals from all over the country, their beneficiaries have access to medical care and treatment, counselling, legal advice and assistance, holistic therapy sessions, education, financial assistance, immigration advice, and assistance to return home or to reside in the UK.

The charity also run the national Modern Slavery Helpline and Resource Centre, provide training for professionals to spot the signs of exploitation, influence government, as well as offering advice to corporate partners on how to resolve issues in their supply chains or wider operations.

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