Corporate Funding


An introduction

The Gut Trust is the UK's national charity for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a condition which impacts significantly on people's quality of life. It is still socially unacceptable to talk about bowel functions, which means people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome have very few people in whom they can confide and from whom they can get advice and support. There is no cure for Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

This is why the work of The Gut Trust is so important. People who work with you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. People in your family and your group of friends have it. And chances are, they cannot talk about it; or they are reluctant to seek medical advice; or they are tempted by the various expensive 'quick fix' cures advertised on TV and the internet. The Gut Trust provides detailed, informed advice to people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome, working in conjunction with patients and medical professionals to improve quality of life, provide advocacy where needed, and help and support in as many ways as we can.

We are funded by our membership dues, by donations and by sponsorship. This website gives you an idea of what we're doing, why it's so important, and how - and why - your company can help. Please help us, as we strive to improve the lives of people whose condition means they cannot - or will not - ask you themselves.

Jonathan Blanchard Smith, Chair of Trustees

What's the problem?

Out of every ten people who work for you, at least one has Irritable Bowel Syndrome. They suffer from pain, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation; a need to go to the toilet at such short notice that sometimes they soil themselves; restricted diets; and with the mental pain and depression that having a chronic, and embarrassing illness, creates. Most often, they suffer in silence.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome affects people's ability to work. It makes it difficult to travel, to socialise, to be anywhere unfamiliar without easy access to a toilet. It causes pain. It incapacitates people.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is over 10% of the workload of gastroenterologists in the UK - and yet people wth it cannot talk about it because of the social stigma attached to problems of the gut. Irritable Bowel Syndrome causes depression, and worse - it is estimated that over 30% of people with chronic Irritable Bowel Syndrome consider suicide because of their symptoms.

These people work for you, in your organisation. They may be in your family, and in your circle of friends. We are the only dedicated charity in the UK who offer them the help they need.

Established for ten years, the charity works for people with the illness, providing emotional and practical support through provision of advice, self management resources and materials. We use the media _ in print, on television and on radio - to inform people about the illness and actively to challenge the stigma it attracts.

Our plans for the future

We have ambitious plans for expansion, spurred on by an intimate understanding of the impact Irritable Bowel Syndrome has on people's lives and a determination to let those people affected by it know they are not on their own. We have already extended the hours of our helpline once in 2007 - we will do so again. We are appointing a Volunteer Support Officer, a full time member of staff to provide our self help groups, befrienders and volunteers with the support they need.

We also have ambitious plans for publicity - to gain new members important to provide us with sustaining revenue and also to raise the awareness of Irritable Bowel Syndrome as a life-changing illness, make more people aware of the services and support we offer, and go some way towards breaking the taboos around pain, illness and bowel function that make many people with the illness suffer in silence.

We understand that funders need to see that we are well run. We are working towards PQASSO (the Practical Quality Assurance System for Small Organisations), the voluntary sector's gold standard for efficient, effective management and service delivery. We are also members of the Fundraising Standards Board.

What we need

Simply, we need funds to provide our services. Membership fees pay for the basic services The Gut Trust provides, but allow no room for us to expand. A list of projects which could be particularly appropriate for your company can be found on the Projects & Initiatives page of this website, but there are other things you can do as well.

  • Bearing in mind 10% of your employees are likely to have Irritable Bowel Syndrome to one degree of severity of another, would your company show its support for them by becoming a corporate member of the charity?

  • Can we place a note on your corporate intranet telling people what we do - importantly - publicising our helpline?

  • Would your Human Resources team appreciate a briefing on Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

  • Do you have a corporate social responsibility budget which we could bid for?

  • Are there opportunities for sponsorship we could discuss?

What we really need, most of all, is members. They provide our sustaining income, lend us weight in the ongoing debate with the government and the National Health Service for resources, and enable us to campaign more effectively. Anything your organisation could do - from making our materials available to your staff to join - provides us with the assets, both human and financial, we need to support the one in ten of the population who suffer from the shame and embarrassment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Please help us - however you can.