Mashadi Makwana of the Nedbank Foundation handing over a mobile library to a teacher and two pupils from Rammopodu Primary School.
Nedbank’s corporate social investment (CSI), in areas such as education and community development, reflects its identity as a responsible corporate citizen. This filters down to staff members and the bank’s clients, many of whom are diligently helping to change the face of South African society.
While South African companies are required to spend 1% of their net profit after tax on CSI initiatives, Nedbank went well beyond this last year by investing R118-million, and in 2012 R107-million. Socioeconomic development is a non-negotiable business and moral imperative for Nedbank.
The strategy of cultivating integrated prosperity for all is demonstrated foremost by the work of the Nedbank Foundation, the primary corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Nedbank. The foundation ensures the long-term effectiveness of its contributions and focuses on education, health, job creation and skills development and community development.
This multifaceted approach, Nedbank believes, is the best way to ensure sustainable, incremental upliftment in South Africa. In this cycle of interdependent progress, healthy children are better equipped to achieve at school; their academic success will one day benefit their communities; and stable and thriving communities are better able to farm sustainably and create sustainable businesses. All of these things will benefit the next generations of children.
Health
Aware of the urgent need to upgrade South Africa’s hospitals, Nedbank has invested in developing healthcare infrastructure in smaller communities.
Education
The bank focuses on individual pupils — through support during early-childhood development to bursary schemes for tertiary studies — and provides holistic support to beneficiary schools that Nedbank partners with to raise academic standards.
Community development
Nedbank’s Caring for our Communities and Saving our World initiative has passed on sustainability expertise to young pupils, their teachers and parents in some of our poorest communities. Onsite workshops help demystify sustainability and show that, with a little knowhow, anyone can save water and electricity while generating a renewable food supply.
Job creation and skills development
The Nedbank Foundation invests in job creation and skills development initiatives that help jobseekers find the work they — and their families — urgently need. Nedbank also focuses on assisting SMEs (small to medium enterprises) — an economic sector providing more than two-thirds of the country’s jobs.
The bank’s wider CSI efforts encompass children’s welfare and protection, arts and culture, sports development, volunteerism programmes and the environment.
Volunteerism
Around South Africa, Nedbankers support a host of Nedbank-driven volunteerism programmes. They embody something Nedbank sees as the bedrock of a sustainable future: active citizenship. Nedbank believes that building social capital through supported volunteerism leads to healthier communities and a stronger nation.
This, the bank believes, will bring South Africans closer to realising the vision of a country we all strive for — the high-water mark set for 2030 by Nedbank, government and other key stakeholders.
The group has invested more than R5.5-million in volunteerism programmes in 2013, with approximately 28% of its workforce participating in them, far above the national average of 3,5%.
Volunteerism programmes include Nedbank Local Heroes, which supports staff members and clients who participate in volunteer work by providing community projects with financial donations; and Group House Build, a house building campaign in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Voluntary contribution programmes for staff include Angel Tree (staff can support a preselected charity) and Payroll Giving (staff donate to a charity from their salary). For details email [email protected] or visit csi.nedbank.co.za/csi/volunteering.
Affinity Programme
Launched in 1990, the Nedbank Affinity Programme allows Nedbank’s staff members and clients to help build a sustainable South Africa by supporting one of its four affinity-linked causes, at no cost to themselves.
The four programmes are the Nedbank Children’s Affinity, which prioritises support for programmes that benefit children in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund; the Nedbank Green Affinity, which supports social and environmental sustainability through the WWF-Nedbank Green Trust; the Nedbank Arts Affinity, which supports South Africa’s arts, culture and heritage projects through its partnership with the Arts & Culture Trust, and the Nedbank Sport Affinity, which supports sport development through The Sports Trust.
By investing in South Africa, Nedbank strives to involve staff members, clients, partners and all stakeholders in the country’s future.
For more details, call 0860 555 111, visit your nearest branch or go to nedbank.co.za/csi.