UK charities awarded £3 million in donations from Zurich Community Trust
02/14/2023
Zurich Community Trust (ZCT) has donated more than £2 million to regional organisations around the UK in cities including Belfast, Birmingham, Croydon, Glasgow, Leeds, London and Manchester. In addition to this, three national partners have been awarded £900,000 over two years.
In summary:
- 55 local charity partners will receive £2m in funding from Zurich’s charitable arm, ZCT, for the next two years
- Charities were chosen by Zurich UK employees with a focus on food poverty, homelessness, mental health, abuse and dementia
- Three national partners Magic Breakfast, Barnardo’s and Dementia UK have been awarded £900,000 over two years
- ZCT providing an extra £250,000 to support partners further with cost-of-living challenges
- The insurer also introduces financial wellbeing support for its UK employees
These charities have been selected by Zurich’s UK employees, with a focus on poverty, isolation, mental health, dementia, domestic abuse and homelessness. The partnerships will last for two years.
In addition, £900,000 has been awarded to three national partners over two years including Magic Breakfast which will feed more than 3,000 children and young people from disadvantaged areas of the UK over the next year.
ZCT is providing an additional £250,000 to support its national and local partnerships further with the current cost-of-living challenges.
All charity partners have been given access to ‘More than Money,’ a programme of non-financial assistance from ZCT including funded apprenticeships, employee and volunteer skills-based courses and webinars. They will also have access to Zurich’s Personal Development and Wellbeing Learning Hub.
Zurich has also integrated ‘MyImpact’ a charity donation platform, which allows employees to make regular or one-off donations to partner charities. Each donation will be matched by 100% by the Z Zurich Foundation . For every 10 hours of volunteering recorded on the platform in any calendar year, employees will receive £100 to donate to their favourite charity partner.
At the same time, the insurer has introduced a package of support for its 5000 UK employees. This includes financial education, webinars and access to bespoke consultations with eco-experts Planet First, to make their homes more energy efficient. Zurich will offer staff interest and tax-free loans of up to £10,000 to fund home improvements such as draft excluders, cavity wall or loft insulation, solar panels, or double glazing.
One-off payments of up to £1000, have been made to over 80% staff, to help with the cost of living including rising utility bills, as well as access to emergency loans of up to £750 to cover unexpected expenses. Staff can also benefit from a range of discount schemes, plus advice and guidance on financial wellbeing and managing money.
Steve Collinson, Chief HR Officer at Zurich UK and Chair of Zurich Community Trust said: “Increases in the cost-of-living are affecting everyone, with inflation and high energy costs meaning budgets must now stretch further. Zurich Community Trust is proud that these donations will help to ease the burden for charities picked by our staff.
“At the same time, we are listening to our own people and offering flexibility and targeting support where it will have the most impact. This includes providing flexibility around benefits as well as guidance on how to manage finances.”
