With a deep love for our local area and clear expertise in community engagement, a chance meeting with CPSL Mind back in 2022 got us thinking about how we could use our skillset to support the work of this fabulous charity on our doorstep. And so a new charity partnership was born. For over a year, Keystone partnered with the team at CPSL to champion their fundraising activities. As we reach the end of the formal partnership, we look back on an incredible relationship.
CPSL Mind supports local people across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire (CPSL) who are experiencing mental health challenges. On average, the charity works with over 4000 people a year, providing an essential service, and community fundraising plays a vital part in helping maximise their impact and extend their reach.
We delivered tangible value to CPSL Mind by drawing on our experience of marketing strategy and community engagement; consulting with CPSL Mind’s in-house fundraising and communications teams for free. Through focused ‘power hours’, we offered them considered advice and fresh perspectives to help maximise their marketing activities and outcomes.
“I loved working with Keystone. Our chats were very worthwhile as Hayley has a great knack of disseminating valuable tips and advice in a short space of time. I learnt a few new tricks! The partnership helped us to maximise local engagement and made a real difference to our fundraising events and activities. Keystone’s support of CPSL Mind and what I was trying to achieve was truly appreciated, and I thank them greatly for everything they delivered.” – Gary Sutcliffe, Fundraising Manager at CPSL MInd
Our first task was to support CPSL Mind by promoting participation in Chiltern 50 Challenge, raising valuable funds from walking or running in the Chiltern countryside. From this, Keystone moved on to deliver an online communications workshop to help the in-house team identify how to engage with seldom heard groups. Other activities included interviewing Gary about suicide prevention at a Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce event, and promoting mental health training to Keystone clients and our wider network.
Working closely with local initiatives that wouldn’t usually be able to benefit from our expertise is a deeply embedded part of the Keystone ethos. Our next charity project sees us working closely with the St Neots Festival team; as the sole sponsor of the Community zone. St Neots Festival is a free two-day performing arts and music festival in Cambridgeshire that launched in 2023 to great acclaim. As a key sponsor at this year’s event, we’re helping to shine a light on the incredibly creative and community groups within the town – enabling them to promote their activity to thousands of festival visitors in the dedicated community zone.
The Keystone team has always gifted time and expertise to help local causes elevate their work. It gives us the opportunity to build a long-standing relationship and make a prolonged impact within our local community. Curious about what we do as a consultancy? Audience engagement is a big part of our work. Take a look at our featured case studies to see how we successfully and effectively engage communities.
