BVA BDRC raises over £100,000 for Meeting Needs through VenueVerdict

21/10/2016 By Cris Tarrant

We're delighted to have donated more than £100,000 during the last ten years to events industry charity Meeting Needs.

The money has been raised through the promotion of BVA BDRC’s venue feedback service, VenueVerdict, where every completed response from customers triggers a donation of 50p to Meeting Needs.

Matt Costin, Managing Director of BVA BDRC’s ‘On the Move’ division, who launched VenueVerdict in 2006, said, “We needed to deliver high response rates among meeting hosts and felt that charitable giving would be more effective than a personal incentive. Ten years later it remains at the heart of our business model. We are grateful for the support of our clients in making VenueVerdict the meetings industry standard for customer experience accreditation which, in turn, has enabled us to reach this important milestone.”

We are the first of their corporate donors to reach this milestone and can all feel proud of our contribution that helps funds charities both in the UK and overseas.

At the charity partner event held on 19th October, Jennifer Jenkins, Chair of Meeting Needs acknowledged BVA BDRC’s outstanding contribution and said: “BVA BDRC's commitment to Meeting Needs is second to none and we are very grateful indeed for the company's continued generosity. Their contributions fund important projects that change many lives for the better."

Dr Cris Tarrant, CEO of BVA BDRC commented: “We are delighted to support Meeting Needs. The whole team is so proud to be part of this initiative and achieve this incredible milestone that really does make a difference to so many worthwhile causes around the world. I would urge everyone involved in the events industry to support Meeting Needs as their charity partner of choice and like us, feel fortunate that our donations can touch so many lives.”

Why a brick?

The trophy comes from the charity Build It International, who use Meeting Needs funds to transform communities in Zambia by training local people to build schools and clinics. The bricks are made using a pressure technique instead of kiln firing, in order to conserve scarce firewood. Bricks like the ones given to us in this trophy have been used to build the school that BVA BDRC has funded through the VenueVerdict donations.

What is VenueVerdict?

VenueVerdict is an independent customer feedback and accreditation programme used by some of the country’s leading meeting and event venues to drive improvements in the client experience. The survey is conducted amongst people who have recently used one of the 300+ meetings venues that are in the programme. If you’re interested to find out how VenueVerdict can help your venue please get in touch with James Bland.

You can learn more about BVA BDRC's hotels and hospitality insights at our annual Hotel Insights Forum.

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