Breaking down barriers

Macquarie Group Foundation & Dallaglio RugbyWorks

The Macquarie Group Foundation drives social impact work for Macquarie Group. We support our people, businesses, and communities to build a better future. Recognising that many people around the world face systemic barriers to employment, our funding focuses on breaking down these barriers.

Dallaglio RugbyWorks align with our mission because they support young people from the most disadvantaged communities. They use rugby as a hook, but their sessions help develop the soft skills and school engagement of the young people, and their ultimate aim is to guide them onto a suitable career path.

Our journey with Dallaglio RugbyWorks began in 2019, where we funded four of the schools they work in – two in England and two in Wales, enabling them to continue their great work.

However, aside from the monetary support, we also have an employee-led approach to giving, supporting our passionate people to contribute service and leadership to the community organisations we support.

Over the last few years, as part of our goal to break down barriers to employment, we hosted a series of Career Taster Days with Dallaglio RugbyWorks. Together, we helped young people learn about what it’s like to work in a in a corporate business, in a way which is inclusive and uses the products and services that Macquarie offers to relate every-day life e.g., Smart meters, toll roads, aircraft, and technology to name a few. By hosting these sessions, we were helping young people to be 86% less likely to be NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).

Macquarie didn’t just support the beneficiaries of Dallaglio RugbyWorks, our staff were also behind the partnership getting involved in many employee engagement activities as well.

"It was only after visiting a session and speaking with the mentors that I could see the impact the charity and its mentors was having on the lives of the young people and the communities they supported. It was from that moment that I made a personal commitment to doing my utmost to forge a strong partnership with the charity. Specifically, thinking of how I could promote the charity’s efforts amongst Macquarie staff while also looking at ways staff could offer their support through volunteering and fundraising.” – Ryan, one of our colleagues at Macquarie.

Dallaglio RugbyWorks was founded by England rugby legend, Lawrence Dallaglio. Using Lawrence’s classic number eight position on the rugby field, the team at Macquarie were set a series of challenges for eight minutes in duration to raise money for Dallaglio RugbyWorks during our Foundation Week through running, cycling and walking. Staff also took part in raffles, selling t-shirts and many other fundraisers. Another recent example was when London-based Macquarie staff registered to play for a summer touch rugby tournament in Regent’s Park. All of these events, along with the strategic partnership has collectively helped to raise over £230,000 for the charity.

These are great examples for staff from different departments to get to know each other on and off the pitch, foster team bonds outside of the office and reinforce morale. This has also demonstrated staff commitment to our ESG goals, and above all, develop our organisational understanding of the impact of poverty, deprivation, and exclusion.

Our staff also volunteered at the charity’s annual Six Nations fundraising lunch in 2022, selling raffle tickets, supporting auction prizes and meeting other supporters of the charity. This allowed our staff to learn about other elements of the charity, offering wraparound support for Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ mission to raise awareness and vital funds for the work that they do.

We are enormously proud of our work with Dallaglio RugbyWorks over the last few years - and are grateful for their commitment to improving the future prospects of disadvantaged young people in England and Wales.

Reaching and supporting young people during these challenging times is more important than ever before. during these challenging times is testament to It’s a testament to the leadership of our staff in addressing this crucial issue, and strengthening their partner relationships.

Working with this charity brings a host of benefits to employees and employers alike, so please get in touch to find out more about how you can support this great work.

Rachel Engel

Head of the Macquarie Group Foundation, EMEA