Photograph of a young girl wearing butterfly facepaint on a pink bike facing the camera, smiling. Next to her is a smiling Onward employee, wearing a lanyard and blue jacket, stabilising her bike. They both stand outside, in front of a tall fence.

Making The Onward Difference

Our corporate plan, The Onward Difference, is all about making a positive local impact and promoting social, environmental and economic wellbeing in our neighbourhoods.

We do this by building relationships with organisations at the centre of our communities, and by working with our supply chain and local partners to ensure every pound we invest stretches further. This is also known as social value.

Our approach to social value

Our approach to social value is built on four core themes: cost of living, community and environment, employment and skills, and health and wellbeing.

  • Cost of living

    Supporting those who need help with essentials.

  • Community and environment

    Creating pride in our communities and improving the environment.

  • Employment and skills

    Enabling people to be their best and achieve their goals.

  • Health and wellbeing

    Helping people to live happier, healthier lives.

How we can help

We use Match My Project, a social value tool, to connect communities with our supply chain for help with things like funding, donating materials and volunteering. Match My Project operates like an online marketplace where local organisations and community groups can ask for help with their projects from our supply chain.

Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about Match My Project which you can access by clicking on the button below.

Register on Match My Project

When setting up your account on Match My Project:

  • Include accurate information about your organisation
  • Wait for an email to set up your password and access your account once your registration has been accepted
  • Add colleagues to your account as additional users
  • Check the directory for supplier offers that you can match to, which will help your project without having to make a request

When posting about your project on Match My Project:

  • Include information that is relevant to the project such as, whether it requires a DBS check or relevant permissions to undertake any work
  • Think about whether your projects adds a social, environmental or economic benefit to our customers, communities or society
  • Don’t just ask for funding, our suppliers could also offer their time, materials, advice, training or job opportunities
  • If you’re asking for funding, add a breakdown of costs with quotes where possible
  • Ensure your project has a very clear title and description
  • Highlight whether communities and residents are already engaged in the project
  • Provide a timescale for the project and highlight if you need something urgently
  • Upload with as much notice as possible to increase the likelihood of a match
  • Remember that the ideal value of a project is between £1,000 to £3,000 – some larger projects have been matched, but this is rare

Once you have uploaded your project, get ready to receive offers from suppliers and respond promptly to any queries.

If you have received an offer for your project, contact the supplier about your requirements before accepting their offer to support their project. You should:

  • Ensure that you’re both aligned on the project scope and outcomes
  • Ensure that each party agrees and understands its responsibilities
  • Ask for copies of insurance, names of staff working on the project etc if appropriate
  • Make sure that you’re happy to go ahead and partner with them

Please note that there is no guarantee of a match. If this happens, we will do our best to help you access support for your project via other methods.

Once you have accepted an offer, you should get started with the project and make sure you keep track of the hours, donations and resources that the supplier is donating during the project and verify this with them as well.

After completing your project, you should update the project status by leaving feedback and remember that this will be visible to others on the platform.

News and events

Explore the ways we’ve supported community initiatives and find out more about upcoming events.