Commitment to community
ING is involved in the communities in which it operates and we feel it is important to contribute to society in a positive way. To improve the financial situation of the most needy people, we believe structural help is most effective. We also believe that engaging employees in community development improves our corporate culture and performance.
The ING Chances for Children programme (CfC) is company-wide and is aimed at providing funds for elementary education in Brazil, Ethiopia and India for a year through UNICEF. Its aim is to improve children’s prospects by providing them with an education. At the beginning of 2007, the target was set to send 115,000 children to school. This figure equals the number of staff employed by ING worldwide, as we encourage each employee to sponsor one child financially. This initiative was received with enthusiasm and at the end of 2007 around 125,000 children could be sent to school for a year. ING supports the initiatives of its staff by doubling their donations and by giving them time off to work as volunteers.
Many employees like to contribute to society as volunteers. In addition to the CfC programme, ING has various programmes which involve staff in community initiatives. These initiatives go beyond providing time and expertise: they show commitment and support. Some examples of voluntary work are the building of houses in the Philippines, the cooperation with schools in the Netherlands, delivering meals to elderly people in the US and the collection of toys for orphans in Mexico.
ING’s microfinance activities form another example: in India, for instance, ING Vysya Bank provides credit to poor people who cannot get a loan through ordinary financial institutions. This enables people to support their families and it has positive effects on the local economy. We cooperate with Oikocredit, one of the world’s largest non-commercial microfinance institutions, and ING specialists are encouraged to provide their expertise and to work for local projects for a number of weeks.
Finally, ING cooperates closely with authorities and financial institutions to share knowledge in the financial field with countries that can make good use of our expertise; donations are given to various charities worldwide; in the Netherlands, ING is the main sponsor of the Rijksmuseum, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Society for the Preservation of Nature; and business units throughout the company have started initiatives for their own communities.