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Frequently asked questions
How do I apply for support?
We are currently focussing on supporting the charitable work of our colleagues. If your charity/organisation aims to improve access to technology in the community, please visit one of our stores and ask if they will help you fundraise.
Do you have a charity of the year?
We currently have two charities in the UK that we are particularly encouraging colleagues to work with (see left), but we don’t have a charity of the year as such.
When will we be reviewing your partners?
We will not be reviewing our partners again until at least January 2011. However, this does not stop you working with our stores if your charity meets our criteria.
Can we collect outside your stores?
Permission to collect donations outside our stores nationally is only granted to our official partners. All other local collections are at the store managers' discretion, and only for registered charities.
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DSG international has always supported the communities local to it. The business provides useful technology and enjoyable shopping experiences for its customers, and offers interesting and challenging employment opportunities for colleagues. In addition to traditional retail activity the Group has developed its customer services to incorporate maximum flexibility in terms of how to shop, including the provision of product recycling services in its outlets across Europe.
We aim to be a good neighbour; operating with consideration towards local residents, supporting community groups and making sure our stores are welcoming to customers and employees. In the last financial year we contributed over £850,000 to charity.
We have supported charities and communities for many years through our registered charity the DSG international Foundation. Since the Foundation was set up in 1996 it has funded many good causes.
Switched on Communities Partners
Under the campaign teams of colleagues around the business will be able to work with any local organisations that meet the ‘Switched on Communities’ criteria (basically, improving access to technology). However, in the UK we are promoting two organisations in particular that we’d like to focus on. These are the E-Learning Foundation and Lifelites. Click here to read more about the E-Learning Foundation and Lifelites.
Switched on Communities
In June 2009 we came to the end of our initial three-year ‘Switched on Communities’ campaign. Through this campaign we partnered with four charities that specifically focussed on helping communities to access technology. The charity partners (AbilityNet, EcoSchools, The E-Learning Foundation and The Foyer Federation) have done a tremendous job in maximising the value of the funds we have donated to them, and the link between their work and our business has been a big part of this success.
In the light of this success, the DSGi Foundation has taken the decision to continue with the Switched on Communities theme. We plan to run this campaign on an ongoing basis, once again with the ambition of supporting disadvantaged parts of the community through the provision of technology. The campaign addresses global issues around the digital divide while helping to support the community locally.
Community involvement is just one part of the Group’s corporate social responsibility programme. If you’d like to know more about our other activities and interests in this area (such as ethical sourcing, environmental activities, work on diversity or health and safety) please click here www.dsgiplc.com/cr
History
We have funded charities and communities for many years through the registered charity DSG international Foundation. Since the Foundation was set up in 1996 it has funded many projects in the areas of education and health, including the Dixons City Technology College, the Bradford Educational Action Zone, creation of a Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Edinburgh University and research into diabetes at Kings College Hospital.
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