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At The Fore, we have an application process which adds value to charities and social enterprises even if they are unsuccessful in securing funding. This includes offering pro bono support via our network of 2,000+ skilled professionals to high potential applicants.  

Mental Health Swims, hosts free and inclusive swim meet-ups nationwide for their mental health peer support community and came through one of our 2021 funding rounds. While they didn’t get funding, one of our strategic applicant consultants advised they seek pro bono support to commercialise their offering and strengthen their income model.  

We matched Simon Feddo, an Executive Director from The Fore’s corporate partner UBS, with Mental Health Swims to provide the skilled support they needed. Simon initially provided some high-level business consulting, and then saw the opportunity to help with designing the organisation’s website and donation page with some of his colleagues at UBS.  

Mental Health Swims have found the pro bono support to be worth its weight in gold: 

“Simon and his team were absolutely fantastic. He and his team helped us create a new donation page on our website. They looked at the user journey and they created something beautiful.  

 Simon’s team was so enthusiastic and supportive of us, one of the team members even came along to a swim! I didn’t expect the level of support that we received which was outstanding and really transformative for our organisation.” – Rachel Ashe, Mental Health Swims.  

It wasn’t just Mental Health Swims that benefited from the pro bono experience. Simon and his team really enjoyed utilising their expertise on a cause that really resonates: 

“I personally felt passionate around the topic of mental health and felt that my skillset and that of my team aligned well to the needs of the organisation. 

 I found the experience super rewarding! It was great to be able to engage other team members as well on the design and engineering aspects. We haven’t finished our journey yet and see an ongoing relationship forming with Mental Health Swims” – Simon Feddo, UBS.  

If you are interested in developing staff through bespoke employee engagement opportunities with exceptional small charities and social enterprises, email [email protected].