Santander Bank Polska Foundation

SDG: 
Goal 11 - Sustainable cities and communities

The Santander Bank Polska Foundation implements most of the bank's social programmes and provides organisational and financial support for corporate volunteering.

  • GRI:
  • Custom indicator Total amount of money allocated to community engagement activities / year
    Total amount of money allocated to community engagement activities / year
  • ESG: S – Society Our approach to Social Responsibility
    Our approach to Social Responsibility

The Foundation runs projects and social programmes which focus on:

  • supporting the financial education of children, young people and senior citizens
  • investing in the education of young people through scholarship programmes
  • promoting children’s sporting activities,
  • activating local communities
  • promoting and sponsoring culture
  • sponsoring educational establishments, NGOs and children’s homes.

The most important projects implemented by the Foundation in 2020 include the Scholarship Programme and the grant programme „Here I Live, Here I Make ECO Changes”. We also organised charity actions: „#Podwójnamocpomagania” (We Will Double Your Impact) and „poMOC jest w nas” (Power to Help).

Santander Foundation Scholarship Programme

The scholarship is intended for outstanding students of primary and secondary schools. It is a reward for the effort put into learning and a motivation to continue hard work and achieve better results. By supporting young people, the Foundation contributes to the development of talents and passions, and facilitates top-level education for students from all over Poland.

The 2020/2021 scholarship programme marked its third edition. Among the scholarship beneficiaries are programmers, gymnasts, athletes, musicians, social activists, poets and actors.

  • 395

    total number of applications for the scholarship programme

  • 23

    students received scholarships from the Santander Bank Polska Foundation

  • PLN 5,000

    amount received by scholarship holders in 2020/2021

  • PLN 115,000

    value of all scholarships received

"Here I Live, Here I Make ECO Changes" grant programme

Objective of the Programme

The aim of the programme is to have an impact on the immediate environment: to raise the standard and quality of life by bringing about sustainable changes in the neighbourhood and to integrate communities. This is why the Santander Foundation encouraged local foundations, associations and schools to improve the space around them: to create green bus stops, plant murals, design new pocket parks, but also to renovate abandoned places which can now be recreated and given a new life.

It is important to carry out the projects in public space accessible to all. Particularly appreciated are initiatives involving a large group of residents who want to see the change and are willing to devote their time to joint efforts.

A number of environmental projects aimed at improving the quality of life of local communities have been implemented under the programme. Thanks to the grants, new facilities and green spaces were created and the existing ones were upgraded, making a significant contribution to local communities throughout Poland.

  • PLN 500,000

    Total amount transferred under the programme

  • PLN 5/7/10 thousand

    Amount of individual grant

  • 68

    Number of projects supported

  • 68

    Number of organisations supported

  • 206,920

    Total number of beneficiaries of the programme

#WeWillDoubleYourImpact campaign

With the joint efforts of the Foundation, the Bank and our customers, we organised a charity event in April 2020 to support health care and medical facilities. More than 15,000 people have joined in to help and as a result over PLN 5m has been donated to Polish hospitals to buy the necessary equipment and protective measures required to fight COVID-19.

  • 15,000

    people

  • PLN 5 m

    donated to Polish hospitals

Power to Help campaign

Between 14 September and 5 October 2020, the bank donated PLN 0.05 from each BLIK transaction, free of charge for the customer, to finance the purchase of medical equipment for ten Polish children’s oncology centres. Donors could also deposit money directly into a dedicated Santander Foundation account. The „Power to Help” campaign engaged 613,000 bank customers who made over 3 million BLIK transactions. Together with our customers, we donated PLN 200,000 thanks to which the centres bought equipment for daily diagnostics of the youngest patients.

  • PLN 200,000

    total amount of donation received by the centres

  • >613,000

    took part in the campaign

  • >3 million

    BLIK transactions executed as part of the campaign

  • 10

    centres have received support under the fundraiser

More about the projects

You can read more about the Santander Foundation and its ongoing programmes at: fundacja.santander.pl.

„TO(działa)MY!” project

About the project

The educational and social project initiated by UNICEF in partnership with the Santander Foundation is addressed to teachers working with students from the fourth grade of primary school

Its aim is, among other things, to shape an attitude of social engagement in children and young people and to draw the attention of the young generation to the needs of their immediate environment. In the 2020/2021 school year, students developed and implemented their own social projects on one of three topics: ecology and environmental protection, health and sports, and education and culture. In addition, schools could apply for funding for the projects by taking part in a grant competition. The submitted and awarded initiatives will be implemented until the end of 2021.

  • 30

    number of schools supported

  • PLN 2,000

    amount of individual grant

Korki TV

The Santander Foundation was a partner and provided financial support to an educational program which helped high school students study for their final exams during the pandemic. Read more about the project here.

PLN 12,405,945.78

The total amount allocated by Santander Bank Polska S.A. and the Santander Bank Polska Foundation to social engagement activities in 2020.