Buy Social Corporate Challenge – our CEO pitches Micro giving

Next week, our CEO Kate Frost, will be stepping into a Social Enterprise “Dragons’ Den” style pitch as part of the Social Enterprise UK Buy Social Corporate Challenge.

This initiative brings together major UK corporates with one bold ambition: To spend £1 billion with social enterprises through procurement.

And Microhive has been invited to pitch as a supplier in HR, Recruitment and Employee Wellbeing.

We couldn’t be more excited! Here’s part of Kate’s four minute pitch – feedback welcome!

The Problem: Many Employees Aren’t Engaging in Workplace Giving in the UK

Many employers offer opportunities to give back in the workplace, and we know this drives enhanced feelings of reward, pride and connectedness, all of which support mental wellbeing. But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

The average take-up of traditional Workplace Giving schemes is around 5% and falling That means ~ 95% of employees are not accessing workplace giving.

Why?

At a time when financial pressures are rising, many people feel they can’t afford to give “meaningfully” so they have stopped giving at all, especially with small value donors. Charities are reporting that donors are shrinking in volume but rising in value.

The Microhive Difference: Collective, Micro Giving

Microhive flips the model. Instead of individual giving, we enable team-based collective giving. Employees simply donate the pennies from their net pay each month so donations are always less than £1.

For example:
Earn £850.34 → Keep the £850 → Donate the 34p.

It’s small enough that almost everyone can join in, but the cost to the individual is hardly felt.

It’s the Power of Collective Action

To date, Microhive has raised £9 million and supported over 800 charities. That’s what happens when giving feels accessible.

Why This Matters for Employers

Salary alone no longer drives engagement. Employees, particularly younger generations are looking for meaning, connection, purpose and evidence their employer shares their values. Purpose-driven benefits are no longer “nice to have” They are directly linked to Increased engagement, higher retention, improved wellbeing, reduced burnout and stronger performance.

The Big Question

You don’t need to convince employees to care – they already do. What they need is a place to start. The difficult fact is that most workplace giving models exclude the majority from giving. Microhive removes the barriers. Affordable, simple to set up with proven impact. It brings all the wellbeing benefits of giving to a greater proportion of your workforce.

We’ve already transformed spare pennies into £9 million for charity. Why wouldn’t you come and join in?