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Our tradition of philanthropy dates back to our roots, with
donations on record as far back as 1891. We are now one of
Canada's largest corporate donors. The RBC Community Blueprint
aims to promote prosperity by contributing to the communities
in which we live and work. Across North America and around
the world, we support a broad range of community initiatives,
through donations and community sponsorships, and employee
volunteer activities.
2009 Performance Highlights
- RBC launches RBC Emerging Filmmakers Competition in partnership
with TIFF. More.
- RBC After-School Grants Program calls for grant applications.
More.
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2008 Performance Highlights |
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Donated more than $51.5 million to
community causes worldwide, primarily in the areas of
education, the environment, health, social services,
arts and culture and civic causes
In the first nine months of the RBC Blue Water Project,
we committed $11.8 million to organizations working
in the areas of watershed protection and access to clean
drinking water. By year-end, we had committed $13.2
million to 64 organizations worldwide
See Environment
Qualified as an Imagine Canada “Caring Company”
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Provided more than $47.5 million in
sponsorship of community events and national organizations,
primarily in the areas of amateur sport, arts and culture,
and Olympics-related programs
Launched the RBC Wicket Cricket® program to help
Canadian schools and communities introduce cricket to
their physical education programs
Sponsored “Let’s Do Something Giant”
awards in the United States, recognizing individuals
for their community service or athletic accomplishments
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Employees and pensioners worldwide
contributed countless hours in volunteer activities
and funds to not-for-profit groups through payroll deductions,
direct giving and special events
Expanded the Employee Volunteer Grants program internationally
Introduced a corporate program to support employee teams
in pledged events
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Vital Statistics
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2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
Investments
in community causes
(total of donations and sponsorships)
|
$99.0
million
|
$82.8
million
|
$83.4
million
|
| Donations |
$51.5
million
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$47.7
million
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$42.4
million
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| Community
and national sponsorships |
$47.5
million
|
$35.1
million
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$41.0
million
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Issues
- In the coming year, the financial services industry and
other sectors will be under pressure to do more with less.
RBC aims to balance today's social needs and financial realities,
taking a long-term view of economic, environmental and social
sustainability. We have committed to maintain our 1% commitment
to charitable giving in Canada in 2009.
- The global trend is for corporations to move towards
"strategic philanthropy", narrowing their areas
of funding to align with their business goals. This can
be difficult to achieve when a company also wishes to support
the causes its clients care about.
- There is an increasing expectation from socially responsible
investors that companies should do more rigorous analysis
and reporting of the social impact of their donations. This
may cause an additional burden of performance management
and reporting upon smaller charitable partners.
- We want to encourage and recognize employee volunteerism
and giving, while ensuring they do not feel pressured into
either.
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