When leaving our corporate roles to set up our own mortgage brokerage we wanted to ensure that we gave back to our community, to charities and the environment with every transaction.
So much so that this was one of the two pillars of our ethos, and duly meetings were held with charity partners before we had even had agreed terms with our network.
As mortgage brokers and financial advisers, we are privileged to be paid very well for what we do, and while it is not by any means a stroll in the park, compared to many working in the backbone of our economy and society such as doctors, nurses, police, teachers and firefighters, we on average often earn more at only the risk of a paper cut.
We feel we have a moral duty to pay it forward and give back.
It was important to us that being profitable was not our sole purpose, we wanted to be different, to stand out from the crowd and build a legacy and reputation beyond being just another brokerage.
When it comes to marketing, firms have lots of choices, whether paying for ads on Google or Facebook, spending hours generating their own TikTok video or carousels or skipping that and buying leads.
We have donated to charity on every mortgage since our inception.We knew early on we would not have the financial resources to compete with large corporates on ad spend, so the majority of our marketing budget we use to help the community.
So far we have set up more than 120 sponsorships, spending more than £100,000 in local communities and volunteer groups from water polo to cycling clubs, including many football, cricket and rugby teams alongside.
Buying the kits for these clubs, which couldn’t operate without the sponsorship, helps provide healthy activity within a community to a large number of people.
The fortunate few
It is very apparent in what we do that the clients we deal with are the fortunate few.
The homeowners, the portfolio landlords, the first-time buyers with good incomes and ability to save or be supported with obtaining a deposit.
So many others in society may never be a client of ours through no fault of their own, and we wanted to try and improve every life possible by doing something different as a business.
Our donations to our three charity partners – Nelsons Journey (supporting bereaved children), Big C (local cancer research and support charity) and PACT Animal Sanctuary help us support many people and animals in need from our earnings.
So far, we have donated more than £90,000 between these causes, with the client choosing which cause they would like to benefit.
It was important for us to select local smaller charities where our donations will be used on the causes and have the greatest impact, rather than into a huge multi-national charity where we feel the funds could be lost on salaries and overheads.
We have donated to charity on every mortgage since our inception, and also offer free advice to all NHS staff to help give back to all those who work so hard to keep us all healthy.
Planting trees on every mortgage was a later idea we had to help with our impact on the environment.
As most of our advisers work from home and our process is virtually paperless, making our footprint quite minimal, we feel technically the planting of more than 9,000 trees so far has had a net positive impact (or will do when the trees reach maturity).
Quantifying success
So, what do we get out of it? Well firstly, that was never the main aim or question behind our charity work and community giving back.
Secondly, it is very hard to quantify how many people contact us after seeing our logo on the shirts of a Sunday league team whilst stood on the sideline shivering in the rain.
Certainly our NHS discount attracts a lot of referrals, and many clients advise that they love the charity donation aspect.
I guess ultimately it gives everyone within the Yellow Brick family great satisfaction that what we do matters and has a positive impact on society around us.
It also sets us apart from many other brokerages; ultimately many will offer the same products, and also have many positive reviews, so this makes us unique.
And I think more so with the current and next generation, for whom the ethos of a company and their social conscience is becoming ever more prevalent in deciding where to do business.
Stephen Perkins is managing director of Yellow Brick Mortgages
