Bank employees become advocates for charitable giving
11/06/2010
Clydesdale and Yorkshire top banking charts for charity
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank employees have been named as the most charitable in the banking world when it comes to their salaries. With nearly 21 per cent of their staff giving to charity via their salaries, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks have the highest employee involvement of any UK high street bank for Payroll Giving.
The national Payroll Giving initiative, promoted by the fundraising organisation Workplace Giving UK, gives employees the chance to voluntarily donate a portion of their salaries to good causes every month.
The latest figures reveal that a record-breaking 20.7 per cent of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank employees are enrolled in the scheme, donating over £200,000 per annum to charities via their salaries. The banks have been so successful in Payroll Giving that employees are acting as mentors to other companies looking at the benefits of the programme and are also involved in helping organisers to develop the scheme further.
The number of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank employees taking part in Payroll Giving at the same time last year was 17 per cent, suggesting that the economic climate has not dampened their generosity. In fact, the results of a recent survey suggest that Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank employees are in the 5 per cent of the nation that has actually increased its charitable giving in the past year*.
Employees are free to donate to any charity of their choice via the scheme. However, for every pound an employee chooses to donate to Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks’ charity partner, Help the Hospices, the bank matches the donation £ for £.
Peter O’Hara, managing director at Workplace Giving UK said: “Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks should be congratulated on their continued success with their Workplace Giving scheme. Having over 20 per cent of the workforce taking part in the scheme is something many other employers can only aspire to. This has been achieved through the banks’ ongoing, proactive promotion of the scheme with us, which has really engaged their staff. Their innovative matched fundraising programme shows the banks’ commitment to the scheme and their dedication to supporting employees’ charitable giving activities.”
Later this month, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks are set to be awarded the HM Government Gold Award 2010 for Payroll Giving excellence.
Jacqui Atkinson, community affairs manager for Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, said: “It’s great to see our employees taking advantage of the Payroll Giving scheme - it’s a quick and easy way to donate to the charities which are close to our employees’ hearts. Our people choose to donate to a wide range of local and national charities and I’m really proud of the fact that we’ve got more employees taking part in this scheme than any other high street bank. We hope to increase our take up even further in the next twelve months.
“Payroll giving is just one of the community initiatives that Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks run as a business – we are dedicated to encouraging our staff to get involved in their local communities. I think the Payroll Giving scheme has been so popular with our employees as it’s an easy way to continue giving, whatever the economic climate. An added bonus is donations’ tax free status, which means as much money as possible goes to the chosen charities.”
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Clydesdale Bank is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), Find out more.