OREANDA-NEWS. July 10, 2015. When major humanitarian emergencies occur, BNP Paribas employees have always taken action. Until a few years ago, however, there was no central tool available to collect their donations. In 2012, BNP Paribas created the “Rescue and Recover” fund to respond to this need. With this financial tool, employees can donate immediately and support the causes they care about over the long term.

  • Matching contributions

To ensure that funds are targeted and effectively used, the Group decided to partner with select NGOs in setting up the fund. The selection criteria targeted accredited organizations that work in complementary fields on an international scale, while maintaining rigorous management standards in order to track contributions.
The Group thus chose 3 NGOs: Care, Doctors Without Borders  and the French Red Cross.
The fund functions in this manner:
•    In the event of an emergency, a call for donations is issued within 48 hours;
•    Employees can make individual donations in any amount;
•    The Group provides a matching contribution for every donation;
•    At the end of the fundraising campaign, the funds are split equally between the 3 NGOs.

For each employee donation, the BNP Paribas Group provides a matching contribution to the fundraising campaign

  • Stunning generosity

Originally created to respond to the desire of current employees to help in a time of need, the Rescue and Recover fund quickly expanded its scope of action to include former employees: retired BNP France employees can now donate to the fund, too. In May 2015, the fund also began accepting donations from BNP Paribas’s French customers.
In both cases, the Group still offers a matching contribution: doubling every donation.

The tool has quickly proven effective. It has been mobilized after natural disasters (Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, floods in India) and during the annual fundraiser (benefiting refugees in 2014).
In addition, the amounts raised by employees are exceeding every expectation. Since its launch, the fund has collected € 1.5 million. And when a terrible earthquake recently shook Nepal, the fund raised a record amount: € 250,000. That means the 3 NGOs will soon receive a total of € 500,000, once the Group adds its matching contribution.

€1.5 million raised since the launch of the fund in 2012

  • Putting CSR into practice

The Rescue and Recover donation fund is one of the concrete actions put in place as part of the Group’s CSR policy, which is based on 4 pillars:
•    Economic responsibility (through ethical financing, responsible products, etc.);
•    Social responsibility (through HR commitments in terms of diversity, mobility, etc.);
•    Civic responsibility (through several efforts to support civil society, combat exclusion, promote education, etc.);
•    Environmental responsibility and combating climate change.

Within this framework, the Rescue and Recover fund fits perfectly into the Civic responsibility pillar

Stronger together

Everyone gives what he or she can. After the earthquake in Nepal, donations ranged from € 7 to € 10,000 euros!
Even the smallest contribution is crucial; firstly, because every amount is doubled by the Group’s matching contribution. But also because the fund depends on the commitment of all: each campaign brings together the efforts of thousands of employees. And now, customers can do their part, too.