Charitable Fund: grants increase to €18 million in 2022
Intesa Sanpaolo's Charitable and Social and Cultural Works Fund, managed by the Chairman, in 2022 will have €18 million to disburse to non-profit organisations to combat difficult situations linked to fragility and inequality, made even more serious by the health, economic and social crisis of recent years.
The Fund's priority focus areas are:
- psychological support for Covid-19 patients and those most affected by the pandemic
- training and job placement of fragile individuals, with particular attention to new types of poverty
- supporting fragile teens and young people.
The Charitable and Social and Cultural Works Fund, established under Intesa Sanpaolo's Articles of Association, is managed by the Chairman and allows a portion of profits to be allocated to charity and support projects in the areas of solidarity, social utility and individual value.
"A country in which the social divide continues to widen is not a country that can grow peacefully. This is the basic premise from which Intesa Sanpaolo's commitment to help people and families in difficulty springs: a commitment that in the 2022-2025 Business Plan has been doubled in terms of the number of projects. The Charitable Fund contributes to this objective and, more generally, to the problems of fragility and inequality – a task made all the more urgent and necessary by the pandemic and the conflict that Russia has waged against Ukraine. A need and an urgency recognised by the Bank's Shareholders' Meeting, which a few days ago resolved to increase the Fund's donations."
Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, Intesa Sanpaolo's Chairman
In the four-year period of the 2018-2021 Business Plan just concluded, the Fund disbursed about €55 million for projects of solidarity, social utility and individual value; in 2021 alone, disbursements exceeded €14 million, with support for 826 projects carried out by non-profit entities: 99% of the resources were allocated to measures in favour of the weakest segments of the population and 90% to Italy.
In addition, following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Intesa Sanpaolo's Charitable Fund promptly disbursed €300,000 to ensure continuity of support for Soleterre and Médecins Sans Frontières, entities operating in the country and committed to assisting children with cancer and supporting doctors and hospitals, respectively. A commitment that comes in addition to the donation of €10 million by the Intesa Sanpaolo Group and to other solidarity and hospitality measures already taken in support of the Ukrainian population.
In the 2021-2022 Guidelines, the preferred area of activity continues to be the Social area, to which most of the available funds have been allocated (84% of disbursements made in 2021), followed by 10% to scientific research and 6% to initiatives presented by religious organisations.
Eighty-nine percent of the funds were disbursed throughout Italy, with growing support for the South and the Islands, which received 28% of the resources, with Campania and Sicily being the top beneficiary regions in the area and respectively the fourth and fifth recipient regions in absolute terms, both with over €930,000 disbursed, equal to around 7% of the funds allocated. Contributions to Umbria tripled, those to Abruzzo more than doubled and those to Puglia doubled, for the most part as a result of central allocations.
Among the projects supported in 2021 are measures against educational and youth poverty in peripheral areas; projects on school dropout for second-generation students; initiatives in favour of victims of violence; support for centres for minors and adults with cognitive disabilities and occupational therapy projects; home care for children with cancer; actions to develop the resilience of adolescents who are ill or suffering from psycho-social distress; and outreach projects for families facing adversity. In the research area, 16 projects were supported by leading national institutions, mainly focused on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, rare diseases, cognitive disabilities and Covid-19.
Worthy of note are the initiatives in the area of disability – around 8% of the resources provided – which bear witness to the ongoing support guaranteed to this target group both in terms of health and in terms of socio-economic inclusion with important commitments, especially at local level.
The Charitable Fund made a decisive contribution to the achievement of the social objectives of the Business Plan for 2021 by ensuring 1.2 million meals (equal to around 34,000 meals a day), through support for charities and associations including the Community of Sant'Egidio, Antoniano onlus, Fondazione Progetto Arca and Opera di San Francesco.
The Fund also continued its work to combat world poverty with initiatives in countries with a low to medium Human Development Index. Of particular note is the medical support provided in Mumbai hospitals following the escalation of the COVID-19 emergency and the psychosocial support and access to education offered to the most fragile refugees evacuated from Libya to Niger.
Last updated 10 May 2022 at 10:03:15
