Key points
- Baillie Gifford staff selected accessibility champion Euan's Guide as their 2024 charity partner through a company-wide vote
- Staff supported the charity through fundraising events like quiz nights and bake-offs while volunteering valuable professional skills
- This partnership provided Euan's Guide with expertise and resources that have helped the charity grow
Imagine a world where every place is accessible to everyone. How do we get there? For thousands of disabled people, a single comment on Euan’s Guide can open a world of opportunities.
Baillie Gifford was proud to partner with the charity Euan’s Guide, which was voted its 2024 charity of the year by staff.
The Philanthropy Team spoke with co-founder Kiki MacDonald, chief executive (CEO) Antonia Lee-Bapty, volunteer coordinator Claire D’All, and trustee Paul Ralph to learn more about the charity’s mission and how our staff have been supporting Euan’s Guide.
What is Euan’s Guide?
In the UK, almost one in five people has a disability. Despite this significant portion of the population, accessibility can still be an afterthought.
Euan’s Guide runs Euansguide.com, a disabled access review site often described as the ‘TripAdvisor for disabled people’. People leave reviews on the accessibility of thousands of places across the UK and abroad, including shops, restaurants, museums, nightclubs, theme parks and festivals.
Tens of thousands of people visit the website each month to find crucial accessibility information. This highlights the gap in accessibility information available to the public and is one of the reasons why Baillie Gifford’s staff voted for Euan’s Guide to be our charity of the year in 2024.
Euan’s Guide also runs the UK’s largest access survey and the ‘red cord card scheme’ as part of its Safer Toilets campaign, which has made 150,000 accessible toilets safer. This initiative raises awareness of the red emergency cord alarm systems fitted in accessible toilets and the importance of letting them hang freely to the ground so they can be used in emergencies.
The Impact of Euan’s Guide
Euan’s Guide has become a key resource in helping disabled people feel confident about visiting new places. For those unsure if they can go to a new restaurant, visit a historic landmark or access a public toilet, Euan’s Guide helps make an informed decision. It has become the go-to place for disabled people to find trusted disabled access information.
Paul Ralph shares, “Euan’s Guide gives people hope. People go on holiday on the strength of half a dozen reviews or try something new they never dreamed of doing. You think, I’ve never been rock climbing as a wheelchair user, but if I wanted to, I could.”
The sense of freedom Euan’s Guide gives its users can’t be underestimated. The charity highlights that just a single review at a location can be a powerful force in motivating people to visit.
Euan’s Guide also runs the UK’s largest and longest-running access survey, supported by the Motability Scheme. The survey’s results have been featured across mainstream media, including BBC, The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, Good Morning Britain and Channel 5 News.
The charity is proud to provide an opportunity for disabled people to have their say on disabled access and make their voices heard by raising awareness of the daily challenges.
Giving the community a voice
Euan’s Guide has changed the lives of thousands of disabled people across the UK. While the charity appears to rely on the work of nine determined and dedicated individuals, Claire D’All explains that a small army of volunteers and reviewers makes it what it is.
“We have thousands of contributors who have shared reviews, represented us at events, or tested our website. They’re the heart of what we do,” Claire says.
“We’ve had some volunteers who’ve done hundreds of reviews and then volunteered their time in other ways. It’s humbling to see how committed people are to the cause.”
Kiki MacDonald adds, “Every review is a voice. It’s not just information; it’s a way for people to share their experience and help others.”
How Baillie Gifford Supported Euan’s Guide
Our support of Euan’s Guide was twofold, with staff fundraising and volunteering their skills.
Over the year, we organised several fundraising initiatives, including a charity quiz night, the Halloween Bake-off, Christmas Jumper Day, Charioke, and the monthly Charitea trolley, which circles the Edinburgh office with treats that staff make a donation for. In addition to financial donations, staff from across the business donated their time and skills to Euan’s Guide.
This ranged from advice on search engine optimisation (SEO) to budgeting, social media management, and using Google AdWords. We’ve also helped build bespoke PowerBI dashboards and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for the charity.
Antonia shared, “Having access to skills we couldn’t afford, whether it’s SEO advice or help testing our website, has been invaluable. It’s the kind of support that’s worth its weight in gold.”
Kiki adds, “We’ve never had a charity partner of the year before. The backing we’ve had has been incredible and has given us the tools to grow in ways we didn’t think possible.”
What’s next for Euan’s Guide?
Euan’s Guide CEO, Antonia Lee-Bapty, is proud of the charity’s success and the team’s willingness to take things to the next level. “This is a hockey-stick moment for us. We’ve put the foundations in place, and now we’re ready to grow.”
Euan’s Guide is currently developing new technology that will build upon the lessons and feedback it has received from the community over the past decade.
Kiki MacDonald adds, “When we started, it was just a small idea, but now we’ve reached so many people. As we approach our 11th anniversary, we can see how much we’ve grown. But we’re also aware we’ve only scratched the surface in terms of what we want to accomplish.”
How You Can Help
So, what can individuals do to make a difference? Euan’s Guide tells us that you don’t have to be an expert to make the world more accessible. A single review, a small donation, or just sharing a story can open doors for someone who’s been shut out.
Leaving a review is an easy but impactful way to help the Euan’s Guide community. Claire D’All advises, “Accurate access information, like how you get into a venue and photos are so helpful – they let people make their own decisions. It’s about sharing the good and the bad. It’s not about expecting perfection but giving people the information they need to decide for themselves.”
Help spread the word. Everyone can help get the message out and grow the Euan’s Guide community by submitting your own disabled access review – why not leave a review of your favourite local coffee shop, supermarket, or outdoor space? You don’t have to be an expert to share disabled access information.
You can also help by ordering red cord cards from EuansGuide.com and engaging with the charity’s social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.