Charitable Fund focuses on fighting inequalities

After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Charitable Fund was immediately activated to provide continuity in the emergency to the initiatives supported in the country in 2021. In mid-March, a total of around €300,000 was disbursed to Médecins Sans Frontières to ensure emergency medical support, training for local staff and the supply of medicines in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, as well as Soleterre Peace Strategies, to ensure shelter, psychological support and continuity of care for child cancer patients and their families.

The main commitment at national level was also confirmed in 2022, in line with the traditional positioning of the Fund, which historically concentrates resources in Italy. Both central and local donations thus continue to represent a means of support for the communities in which the Bank is present and operates with its branch network.

The North continued to represent the main destination of donations for projects realised, in view of the numerical majority of non-profit organisations based in Italy's northern regions (around 45% of total disbursements). Support for the other areas of the country remained significant: the South and Islands received 25% of the resources, with Sicily and Campania the top regions in the area and sixth and seventh regions respectively, in absolute terms, with disbursements of about €1 million to the former and €800,000 to the latter, equal to 7% and about 6% of the funds allocated. Contributions to Valle d'Aosta and Basilicata, traditionally regions with little coverage, more than doubled. Also noteworthy is the increase in resources for Lazio and Tuscany (about +50%).

The preferred area of intervention continues to be Social, with 89% of resources totalling nearly €14 million, up from the previous year (+5%). The projects supported in 2022 include initiatives to combat relational poverty for children and adolescents at risk of poverty and social marginalisation; projects to combat school drop-outs for students and training courses for families and teaching and educational staff; initiatives in favour of victims of violence; health, recreational and psychological support projects for sick children; support for centres for minors with cognitive disabilities; independent living experiences for the differently abled; and projects to assist patients with neurodegenerative diseases. The Research Area recorded total donations of €1,363,600 or 9% of the total, while for the Religious Area, i.e. initiatives presented by religious bodies, total donations amounted to €386,100 (1% of the total) and included projects of a social nature supporting disadvantaged people and those on the margins of society.

Management of the Fund has continued to give priority to initiatives benefiting the most vulnerable members of society, in line with the objectives set out in the Consolidated Non-Financial Statement: around 99% of the funds disbursed at the end of December 2022 were dedicated to initiatives with this purpose, including social inclusion issues, the fight against social hardship and poverty, disease prevention and treatment, support for disability and international cooperation projects. The four main purposes – accounting for 59% of the resources disbursed in 2022 – are charity, training and education, personal support and youth support initiatives.

Disability initiatives – about 9% of the resources disbursed – bear witness to the constant support provided to this target group, from the point of view of both health and socio-economic inclusion, with major commitments above all at the local level, where such initiatives are the most common (32% of disbursements made by Banca dei Territori). Compared to 2021, the share of research-related projects rose, climbing to around 9%.

The 2021-2022 Guidelines identified three issues that emerged from, or were further exacerbated by, the health emergency: psychological support for Covid sufferers and those most affected by the pandemic; training and job placement for vulnerable individuals, with a focus on new types of poverty; and support for adolescents and young people in situations of vulnerability, for whom a total of over €5.4 million (34% of the 2022 donations) was disbursed.

The office of the Chairman continued to support a number of initiatives in 2022 aimed at achieving the social objectives reaffirmed in the new 2022-2025 Business Plan (Food and Shelter for the Needy Programme). A total of €2.4 million was disbursed for initiatives fighting food poverty by covering or increasing the number of meals distributed by charitable organisations nationwide. Annual meals supported by the Fund are estimated to have exceeded 1.3 million, or about 3,600 meals a day.