Santander’s Community Relations programme encompasses four areas of activity:
Corporate Donations - The Santander Foundation was set up in 1990 to provide a focus for company charitable giving. Funding is prioritised to causes which benefit disadvantaged people within three categories: education training, financial advice and community regeneration. Employee led Community Partnership Groups are involved in local grant-making and to date we have donated over £20 million to charities throughout the UK. For further information on the work of the Santander Foundation please see the link on the left hand side of the screen.
Volunteering - Santander supports staff volunteering through a matched time scheme where we give up to 35 hours a year of paid work time to enable employees to help their favourite causes. Through our Community Days scheme, staff are encouraged to take a day out from the office to volunteer with a local cause. This summer over 400 employees supported over 40 projects around the UK, donating over 2,500 hours and working on more than 25 gardens, 13 conservation projects and several educational schemes with schools. We also work with local schools to offer mentoring opportunities for staff in our major office sites, including with Young Enterprise which provides educational programmes for 5-18 year olds and our staff help pupils understand the world of work and the dynamics of running a business.
Fundraising - employees at Santander raise significant amounts of money every year for charities across the UK, and last year almost £600,000 was donated through their efforts, all of which was matched by the Santander Foundation. To support and encourage this in 2008 Santander created a Charity of the Year scheme and the first partner was Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity. Santander also participates in the Payroll Giving scheme to enable employees to make a monthly donation to charity directly from their salary.
Sponsorship - Santander arranges a small number of partnerships with national charities every year. This year we are supporting Whizz-Kidz' London Marathon team and Help the Aged's Big Spring Walk.
For further information on Santander’s Community programme, email CommunityPartnership@santander.co.uk.