Mark Lyttleton founded Percent For Good with the mission of helping professionals support the causes they care about as painlessly and efficiently as possible through the charity’s partnership with some of the largest Payroll Giving providers in the UK.
Having spent 20 years working in the City of London, Mark Lyttleton had been the proud supporter of numerous charities himself through the years, albeit without having very much time to research the causes he gave to. Recognising the demands on ‘cash-rich’ but ‘time-poor’ professionals keen to give back but without the time to conduct adequate research, Mr Lyttleton came up with the concept of ‘Cause Portfolios’, an innovative addition to the giving scene that enables benefactors to donate to a range of different causes to achieve maximum reach and impact.
Percent For Good operates five Cause Portfolios, focussing on the enabling sectors of:
- Health & Wellbeing
- Education & Arts
- Nature & Environment
- Cost-of-Living Crisis
- Social Mobility
Each cause selected by Percent For Good has the potential to make a big impact on pertinent challenges faced by modern society despite their modest size, with Percent For Good focussing on causes generating between £500k and £10 million in income per year rather than Britain’s largest charities.
Smart Works is a charity included in Percent For Good’s Social Mobility Cause Portfolio that helps unemployed women to access the coaching, clothing and confidence they need to secure employment and change their life trajectory. Focusing on those at high risk of economic hardship who are often struggling with confidence and self-belief, Smart Works helps to break down employment barriers. More than half of its service users come from ethnic minorities and 30% are lone mothers. Through its 12 centres across the UK, Smart Works delivers a full spectrum of services, having helped more than 37,000 women to secure employment over the last 10 years.
Unseen UK was created to eradicate modern slavery and exploitation, inviting members of the public to report their concerns via the charity’s free helpline. From shaping policies to empowering survivors, Unseen UK provides a comprehensive range of specialist services, including helping businesses to understand their legislative requirements and providing gap analysis and training.
Launched with the mission of giving young offenders and those at risk a bright future, Key4Life is another charity backed by Percent For Good. To date, the charity has helped 79% of service users to develop the skills necessary to hold down a job. Just 7% of Key4Life prison and preventative programme participants go on to reoffend compared with the 64% national average reoffending rate. Acting with the ethos that everyone deserves a second chance, Key4Life saves and transforms the lives of former offenders. The organisation operates programmes for both adults and under 18s, helping service users to focus on the future rather than the past and connecting them with the support and opportunities they need to succeed and thrive.