Best Business in the Community

Sponsored and judged by Vantis Asset Finance (visit website)

The category

Is your company actively engaged in putting back something into the local community? You might, for example, be helping out at youth centres, helping to renovate parks and woodlands, be providing training or re-training, donating used equipment, helping to support deprived children; the list is almost endless.

Please enter the number of employees including contractors on the Entry Form. The judges will place your company in the small/medium or large division of the category as appropriate.

What the judges are looking for

The judges are looking for a description of how your company works to benefit the community. This can be your local community or communities more remote including overseas. Describe what you do and why you decided to do it.

Please write your overall description in no more than 500 words (fewer are perfectly acceptable) and then separately answer the questions below. Where possible please attach supporting materials such as photos, leaflets, testimonials, etc. to back up your entry.

Specific questions to answer

1. How does your business benefit the community?
2. What is your community strategy?
3. What is the complete range of community activities your company is involved in?
4. If possible, identify the financial or personnel resources allocated to community work

About the judges

The Best Business in the Community category will be judged by Mark O'Neil, Client Director at Tonbridge-based Vantis Asset Finance which provides access to finance for SMEs across the country.

Vantis actively supports its own staff in a number of community projects across the UK, as well as providing business services to SMEs operating in local communities.

Community involvement is something that the company takes very seriously. Mark himself is a volunteer for Kent Search and Rescue which works with the Police, RAF Search & Rescue Units, other emergency services and local councils throughout Kent. As its name implies, Kent Search and Rescue help find vulnerable people who may be in life-threatening situations, where a quick and efficient response to emergency calls is essential. Mark also teaches self defence to the local community.

Commenting on the award, Mark said: "I am very much looking forward to receiving the entries and seeing first-hand the range of good work that businesses do to help the community, much of which I know goes unsung."