Professional services firms support record-breaking Dry July
The annual Dry July campaign in support of cancer patients has broken its previous fundraising record, with accounting and consulting firms Nous Group, PKF and RSM and among the participants.
Breaking its previous record, this year’s Dry July campaign has managed to crack the $13 million mark in donations – despite the widespread lockdowns over the course of last month. The annual cancer fundraiser – which sees individuals and teams raise money while abstaining from alcohol for the month of July – has to date raised over $13.2 million for various charities through almost 40,000 participants, including teams from the professional services realm.
Accounting-origin networks PKF and RSM featured among the top twenty fundraisers on the respective Dry July ‘teams’ and ‘organisations’ leaderboards, while management consultancy Nous Group was also prominent on the latter. All three were able to raise more than $10,000, which will go to charities helping to support cancer patients and their families, such as the Cancer Council, McGrath Foundation, RedKite, Pancare, and Leukaemia Foundation.
For PKF, which serves as the auditor of the Dry July Foundation, it was the team’s 12th year running, with its 21 members so far raising $17,765 – well in excess of their $10,000 target. The initiative is driven by Newcastle-based PKF Audit and Assurance partner Martin Matthews, described as a huge advocate of Dry July, who has been with the firm for the past seven and a half years following a long spell as a client director with Deloitte.
“It’s been fantastic to have worked with Dry July since its humble beginnings and amazing to see how the charities have significantly benefited over the years,” Matthews said. “In reality, a month off the booze is a small price to pay and being part of a Dry July workplace team strengthens your existing rapport as you are all striving towards achieving a common goal. But more importantly, the funds raised go towards helping the lives of people affected by cancer.”
Demonstrating his nous as a consultant, Matthews also brought a novel approach to getting his colleagues on board – offering to buy a ‘golden ticket’ for anyone signing up as a member of the team. For a minimum purchase of $25, a golden ticket grants participants a one-night waiver from their non-drinking challenge. With the hospitality sector among the hardest hit by Covid-19, Matthews says this is a great way to support both cancer patients and the industry.
Meanwhile, one of the campaign beneficiaries this year is the Pancare Foundation, which supports patients diagnosed with pancreatic and upper gastrointestinal cancers. Alongside Deloitte, management consulting firm Nous Group serves as strategy development partner to the foundation, with the latter instrumental in developing the foundation’s latest five-year strategic plan. As an organisation, the teams at Nous have also raised over $11,000 this year.
Also among the top performers was RSM, the $10,000 it raised for children’s cancer charity RedKite adding to the more than $60 million delivered by a quarter of a million participants since the Dry July campaign was first established in 2008, helping to support people affected by cancer and fund projects through over 80 non-for-profit organisations. This year’s corporate fundraising crown went to BHP, which raised almost $30,000.
