Corporate social responsibility
As a bank founded as a cooperative, we wish to support the public good and our local communities. Our goal is to improve people’s quality of life and promote greater harmony in society. We want all people to grow up and live under the same fair conditions, to be empowered to develop their talents, and to contribute to society through their skills in sport, art or culture. We are especially keen to offer children and young people opportunities. We achieve these aims via the following initiatives:
Locally in Frankfurt
In Frankfurt, Rabobank helps children and teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds to meet others and engage in enriching activities. We support RaUM in Rödelheim via a sponsorship for – and by personally participating in – educational projects on subjects such as healthy eating, physical exercise and painting. Every year, our employees wrap large numbers of Christmas gifts and arrange for their distribution to children in need via the Kinderzukunft foundation – and we encourage our business partners to follow suit.
Throughout Germany (until 2021 as RaboDirect)
WERTvoll macht Schule
The goal of the WERTvoll macht Schule initiative (formally the KinderCash project) is to teach children basic financial skills and to encourage sustainable consumer behaviour. It is an issue close to Rabobank’s heart. We have supported this programme for more than seven years. This has included the development of teaching materials on sustainability, responsible use of resources, and money management for children in the first six years of their schooling.
RESTLOS GLÜCKLICH e. V.
In April 2018, RaboDirect joined forces with the charity RESTLOS GLÜCKLICH to establish a series of School Lunch workshops. In a playful way, these taught Berlin school students how to buy, store and cook food more sustainably. The workshops were free of charge, and lasted the equivalent of four to five regular lessons. Over a period of three years, more than 3,000 children have learned to treat food with greater respect and to avoid waste.
Kochen für Helden
This initiative was launched in 2020 to provide everyday heroes of the pandemic with free meals prepared by local restaurants and hospitality businesses. It evolved into a nationwide movement that not only supports key professionals during the era of coronavirus but also aids all people who work selflessly for others and for society as a whole. The non-profit organisation was launched by Berlin-based gourmet chef Max Strohe, his partner Ilona Scholl (Tulus Lotrec Restaurant), and Jeremias Stüer and Daniel Kalthoff, who run the "21 gramm" restaurant. It is made possible by volunteers, donations and sponsoring – including funding from RaboDirect.
GemüseAckerdemie
Ackerdemia is a non-profit association that founded an award-wining “vegetable-growing academy” (GemüseAckerdemie) for schools, kindergartens and other educational institutions for children and young people. Primary schools across Germany were invited to apply for five educational courses funded by RaboDirect. Since then, the winning schools have learned the ins and outs of vegetable cultivation, from planting seeds to harvesting the crops.
Our international contribution
At the international level, we also support a number of initiatives that reflect our values. In this way, we do our part to change the situation in the world - and to create a better world together.