Contribution to society
As a bank we play an important role in contributing to the economic prosperity of Northern Ireland. But our contribution to society goes beyond this, it’s also about leveraging our strengths to make a real difference in our local communities:
Charity partnerships
Together with our customers, we have raised over £1.3m since 2003 for local charities through our charity partner programmes and have worked with our current partner, Action Mental Health since 2017.
One in five adults in Northern Ireland are affected by mental ill-health at some stage in their lives. It’s a fundamental challenge for our society but we believe we can help address the issue for future generations by supporting and investing in the mental health of our children and young people. That’s why supporting Action Mental Health is so important to us. Money raised through our partnership is used to fund ‘Healthy Me’, a health promotion programme for 8-11 year olds.
Our partnership with Action Mental Health also includes employee volunteering, education and training for our employees and personal finance and fraud advice for those who use the charity’s services.
Employees’ Charity Group
Our Employees’ Charity Group was established in 1991 by staff in Danske Bank, previously Northern Bank, to support charities and good causes throughout Northern Ireland. To date, the Charity Group has paid out in excess of £1 million to a wide range of charity projects across Northern Ireland. Members pay into a fund monthly through a ‘Give As You Earn’ scheme. With no overheads, all of the money raised goes directly to local charitable causes.
Sharing our time and expertise
At Danske Bank, we believe that when employees get the opportunity to volunteer, it creates value for society, our business, as well as the individual employee. Our Danske Time to Give corporate volunteering programme supports our employees to volunteer during working hours, sharing our time, knowledge and skills for the benefit of local communities. We are proud to partner with a number of organisations to provide these opportunities – Business in the Community, Action Mental Health, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, Young Enterprise and Ulster Wildlife.
We also support our colleagues who volunteer in their own time through our Danske Volunteer Grants programme. Each year we invest £10,000 in local organisations throughout Northern Ireland with which Danske employees are involved outside of work.
Supporting local youth sports
We are very proud to put our name to the game and be the biggest supporter of youth sport in Northern Ireland. We have a long history of supporting local sporting talent, and it has been fantastic to play our part in supporting the growth of Ulster Schools’ GAA, Ulster Schools’ rugby and Northern Ireland Schools’ football.
Over the years of our partnerships, we have seen the competitions evolve and go from strength to strength, increasing the opportunities for record numbers of boys and girls to get involved. We are committed to investing in young people in our local communities and helping them thrive through sport.
