Volunteers step up for business and society: help FSB mark 50 years

One man decided that a stand had to be taken and so, in that pre-social media age, he took up his pen and wrote a letter to the Guardian newspaper, citing calls from business owners as diverse as “a musician, a boat builder, an undertaker, a chimney sweep, a window cleaner, and hundreds of shopkeepers” to “DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT”.

Within two weeks of writing his letter, Norman Small had called a public meeting of business owners and, so, the National Federation of Self Employed was formed.

Soon, tens of thousands of business owners were joining every month, from all walks of life – circus schools to cookery schools; plant nurseries to children’s nurseries; makers and bakers and even undertakers; people you can count on, such as dentists and medics, to people who count for us, such as accountants and auditors.

With the slogan “Bowler-hatted or Boiler-suited, the National Federation of Self-Employed is for you” it rapidly expanded to include owners of small and medium-sized businesses. The entire fabric of the private sector economy that, to this day, still employs more people than all big businesses and the entire public sector, combined.

Today, fifty years on, the Federation of Small Businesses is the largest business lobbying organization. In Northern Ireland, FSB has six thousand members; across the UK it’s around 150,000. Individually, each member has a single voice but, collectively, it is a mighty chorus.

FSB listens to its members; conducts research; builds the evidence base; maps the stakeholders; makes the arguments; and, as a result, changes the business environment for the better. Whether securing the Small Business Rates Relief, or ensuring fairness in the COVID grants, or tackling late payments by public bodies, or building support for childcare reform, FSB is widely recognised as being not only the largest but also one of the most effective business lobby groups.

But more than that, FSB is recognised as a force for good – an organisation where the efforts of volunteers to improve the environment for all business owners is a selfless exercise by thousands of individuals in pursuit of collective benefit for millions.

For this reason, as part of our activities in Northern Ireland to mark FSB’s 50th anniversary, we are going to engage alongside another outstanding voluntary organisation which is celebrating its own anniversary this year – Parkrun.

In 2004, thirteen runners and five volunteers set out with an objective of creating something great; a feel-good movement that would be “Weekly, Free, For everyone, Forever” and, from that humble beginning, Parkrun was born.

It’s a simple premise - a five kilometre run held weekly on Saturday mornings, for young and old alike, for walkers, couch-to-5k, amateur runners and elite athletes. Community events that are organized, operated and made possible entirely because of the efforts and commitment of volunteers. Two decades on, there are over 2,300 separate Parkruns, across five continents, with over 9 million participants – all staged as free-of-charge, volunteer-led, public-spirited community events.

Stormont is the focus of much of FSB’s lobbying so, in a celebration of the power and value of voluntary effort and to mark FSB’s 50th anniversary, we are inviting our members, their staff, their families and their customers to come along at 09.00am to the Stormont Parkrun on Saturday 14 September – whether to run, or to volunteer, or just to experience the atmosphere and share a tea or coffee with some of those who help to make both of these great organisations what they are today.

Just drop us a note on [email protected] so we know to expect you!

You are invited to our Stormont Parkrun