ICB has always aimed to provide a supportive community for bookkeepers in the UK and worldwide. With tens of thousands of members around the globe, ICB hopes that it has played a part in improving the professional and personal wellbeing of many remarkable bookkeepers, in particular, providing discounted memberships to those less able to afford them. As the organisation has expanded, so has its reach, and ICB’s team are proud that they have been able to assist more and more members of the international community year on year.

This year, however, with your help, ICB wants to go much further. ICB aims to help the community it has built with its members become a real force for positive change.

Alongside its exciting new ‘Charity of the Month’ scheme, ICB has pledged to donate more of its own team’s time to local charitable initiatives, providing paid leave to team members participating in charity events. This started with trips to soup kitchens in December 2015, during which Chief Executive Garry Carter, alongside other ICB team members, committed to providing and cooking meals for the homeless near ICB head office in central London. 

Charity of the Month

Each month in 2016, as part of the new ICBenevolence initiative, ICB is selecting one organisation as its ‘Charity of the Month’. ICB is asking members to nominate a charity with which they have a particular affinity or personal connection. The nominations will be tallied, and the most popular charities will be given the opportunity to publicise the work that they do with a free section that will feature prominently on the ICB website for a whole year. Through this and various other avenues of ICB membership correspondence, charities will be permitted to let members know about the great work they’re doing, hopefully providing them with a valuable platform through which to gain support for their cause.

There are still 11 more charities to choose for 2016! If you’re an ICB member with a charity you’d like to nominate please click here or email memberservices@bookkeepers.org.uk with the subject line ‘ICBenevolence’ to have your say. It’s a fantastic opportunity to publicise a cause that you care about, and to encourage your fellow bookkeepers to get involved.

January – The National Autistic Society

ICB’s nominated Charity of the Month for January 2016 is The National Autistic Society, the ‘leading UK charity’ for autistic people (including those with Asperger’s Syndrome) and their families. See the organisation's ICB page here.

February - The Linda Tremble Foundation

The Linda Tremble Foundation’s aim is to make a difference to the lives of those individuals and families affected by eating disorders, providing self-help support groups to both carers and sufferers. See the organisations ICB page here.