According to the latest data from the Adecco Foundation, 65% of Spanish companies already have a corporate volunteering program, with socio-professional inclusion being one of their main objectives. Today, it is strange that a company does not have a program within its overall strategy where its professionals carry out solidarity actions.
But it’s something that took time. Previously, volunteer work was ad hoc and individual or in small groups. However, over the years, the corporate world has started to see the fruits of promoting this practice throughout the company culture, where engagement, a sense of belonging and motivation have also been positively affected.
Thus, corporate volunteering in Spain has seen a sharp increase: according to the report Voluntary Action 2023, prepared by the Spanish Volunteering Platform and the Volunteering Observatoryaround four and a half million people participate in voluntary activities, which represents an increase of almost three points compared to previous years.
As well as helping the most vulnerable groups in society, volunteering also has a big impact on company culture. It has been configured as a value-added tool for businesses, as well as to promote the professional development of employees and improve the reputation of the company.
Specialized programs that improve daily life
In this sense, more and more companies have a wide range of workshops and programs of different categories and typologies, where their employees become volunteers to be able to develop them. Without going any further, Banco Santander has Finance for mortals, the program that the entity launched in 2013, in which employee volunteers offer financial education workshops aimed at the most financially vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, groups at risk of social exclusion or children and adolescents. Between January and September 2024, almost 400 professional volunteers from Banco Santander participated as trainers in more than 1,250 workshops organized throughout the country.
Finance for mortals There are several editions, depending on the audience for which it is intended. For example, Financiers of the future is the motto under which the professional volunteers of Banco Santander offer educational sessions in schools throughout Spain for boys and girls in primary schools as part of Finance for mortals junior edition.
But a large number of sessions are also provided to ESO, Baccalaureate and FP students with content adapted to their ages. “When we carry out training in educational centers, the main topics of interest of adolescents revolve around savings and the use of financial technologies in their daily lives,” explains Carmen Bouza, director of the Banco Santander office in La Coruña and volunteer trainer in financial education. . Even if young people are digital natives, “it is important that they know the key concepts of cybersecurity to avoid falling into deception and have enough knowledge not to trust any false financial guru,” underlines this volunteer trainer from Banco Santander.
They must also educate themselves financially because, as Bouza indicates, they must know “basic notions to be able to generate a savings capacity, because this is the key to having a healthy economy that will help them achieve their future investments”. In this sense, Banco Santander plays a fundamental role, because it brings young people closer to the world of finance while helping them “lose the fear of an unknown language,” explains Bouza.
Equally remarkable is the role it plays with people over 65. Through Finance for Mortals Senior Edition They provide this group with basic knowledge of finance and personal economics, with the aim of bridging the digital divide, as well as offering them tips for a safe digital life, basic training on digital banking and the use of vending machines.
A commitment to financial education
Banco Santander has focused its work on financial education in all the countries in which it operates so that citizens acquire the basic knowledge necessary to make the best possible financial decisions, in a safe and informed manner.
In 2023 alone, 11.5 million people have accessed the financial education initiatives it promotes and more than 440 volunteer professionals from the entity in Spain have participated as trainers in the more than 1,000 workshops offered in the whole country. The sessions intended for the senior group have been reinforced throughout the past year, and a new edition has been launched in addition to the two previous ones: Finance for Mortals Inclusive Editionfor people with intellectual disabilities.
Furthermore, as part of the financial education week, which takes place from October 7 to 13, the entity, through Finance for mortals, will offer more than 60 financial education sessions to young audiences.
