Building Impact Together – Businesses and NGOs join forces to make an impact in Malta.

The Academy of Givers held its final event of 2025 on November 11th, closing the year with an insightful panel discussion exploring what it truly means to build a legacy based on trust, shared values, and long-term impact.

The main concept tackled in all our events is always "What does it mean to give well?" This time, the panel brought together business and NGO leaders who believe that “giving well” is about co-creating impact not only for our communities, but also for our people and our organisations.

Hosted at Deloitte Headquarters, the event featured two business leaders and their respective NGO partners sharing how they co-create impact and support each other in making a positive impact in Malta. Sitting on the panel was Academy Member Francesca Zammit Cutajar, Head of Marketing and Employer Branding at P. Cutajar Ltd, accompanied by Alison Sciberras, Outreach Executive at Richmond Foundation. The second pair consisted of Academy Member Mike Xuereb, Owner of MRX Investments, and Francesca Diacono, Co-Founder of Learning 360 Foundation. Moderating the discussion was Amanda Holmes, Head of Marketing, Brand and Communication at Melita Ltd.

After briefly introducing the speakers, Amanda delved into the discussion with the first insightful question of the night, directed at the business representatives: “What motivated your organisation to partner with an NGO, and how did you choose who to work with?” For Francesca Zammit Cutajar, it’s all about building relationships, not just within the company, but within the community. Therapy sessions provided by Richmond Foundation were one way of building relationships to support such an important cause as mental health.

Alignment in values between the NGO and the business is the key to building solid relationships. As Alison Sciberras remarked: “When you choose an NGO to work with, you have to believe in their core mission statement and create a relationship built on trust.” A tip for all businesses to keep in mind when choosing an NGO to support. And P. Cutajar is closely following such advice, with Francesca stating that they are “making sure that our values align with those of the NGOs we collaborate with, so our employees are more involved, educated, and aware of the cause and why it matters.” To do so, P. Cutajar divides its workforce into different teams and assigns “volunteering days” to each team to support the NGOs it partners with, providing benefits such as additional leave to avoid impacting their personal time.

For the second business-NGO pair, what linked the two parties was a shared passion for education. Mike Xuereb was connected to Learning 360 through “ACT for Impact”, Academy of Givers’ flagship mentorship programme, and has been supporting the development of the Foundation since the summer of 2025. For Francesca Diacono, the biggest lesson learned through this mentorship is a change in perspective when it comes to running an NGO. “We can no longer run an NGO as a charity; we should run it as a business”, said Francesca, highlighting how the ability for an NGO to approach what it does with a business mindset makes it more sustainable in the long term.

Mike also shared some thoughts about working with an NGO as a business. In his view, NGOs should dedicate more time to finding trusted partners, instead of going directly for the financial ask, and building a reliable advisory board that can support beyond donations. This is one key concept he remarked on throughout the night, also stating that “for businesses collaborating with NGOs, it’s also about tapping into your network to bring in the right people.”

Supporting an NGO is not just about financial aid but about building solid relationships that last long term and that help the NGO make an impact in the community with more resources, more skills, and more knowledge.

“Ultimately, it’s not just about money, but about purpose, relationships, and alignment on values”, as our host Amanda concluded.

We wish to thank everyone who joined us for this inspirational evening. Your engagement continues to strengthen this ripple effect of giving well and doing good together.