As a strategic partner to Corporate Social Responsibility programs of BNP Paribas Spain since 2004, Fundación Lealtad has facilitated the relationship with several associations, beneficiaries of the program Apoyamos tus ideas, designed to provide financing of employees projects. Among those are: Fundación Bobath (helping people with cerebral palsy), Asociación Parkinson Madrid (helping people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease), Fundación Padre Garralda – Horizontes Abiertos (rehabilitating people who have been excluded from society) and CEPRI (improving the quality of life of autists and their families).

In addition to Apoyamos tus ideas, BNP Paribas has worked closely with Fundacion Lealtad on several other projects:

- In 2007 BNP Paribas’ National Heritage garden (situated within the buildings of the bank) was redone by association AFANIAS , whose mission is to improve the quality of life of those with an intellectual disability so that they can work and carry out a normal life.

- In 2007, BNP Paribas decided to donate the money for of the company’s Christmas presents to two NGOs: Fundación Síndrome de Down enabling people with an intellectual disability to become as independent as possible in their daily life and Fundación También, in order to start a padel academy and to buy special wheelchairs so that people with physical disabilities could practise this sport.

Amalia Ledesma, who works in the Institutional Relationships department of Fundación Lealtad and is in charge of the projects coordinated with BNP Paribas, talks to us about the association and its goals.

” Fundación Lealtad was created in 2001 by a group of civic-minded business leaders in Spain who, aware of the low engagement of Spanish society in NGOs, wanted to increase the public’s trust in these organisations and subsequently its contributions and participation, thus providing a service to both society and the NGO sector.”

How is Fundación Lealtad working to achieve its gols?

“Firstly, we carry out the analysis, based on 9 Transparency and Best Practice Standards, of those Spanish NGOs who voluntarily request it. The results of this analysis are then published in a report which is uploaded onto our website so that it can be referred to easily and which can be downloaded for free.

These reports allow NGOs to be transparent and accountable to society as a whole, amongst other things of how the funds they have received are being used. They offer independent, objective and comparable information on all the NGOs that go through the analysis.

On an annual basis, a guide is published which includes for each one of the analysed NGOs a summary of its results as well as details of its main activities, its beneficiaries and their latest approved budget. The 2009 Guide will include results on 131 NGOs.

In short, Fundación Lealtad offers independent, objective and comparable information on all the NGOs that it analyses.

Secondly, we act as an intermediary between donors and analysed NGOs, so that funds donated by private donors and companies to these organisations increase overtime, as well as other type of non-monetary contributions (donations in kind, expertise advice, corporate volunteering…).

It is important to note that Fundación Lealtad does not certify nor does it rank NGOs, and it does not make recommendations to donors either. Fundación Lealtad believes it is the donor’s responsibility to obtain information on the NGOs it is interested in working with before they finally decide with whom to do it.”

How does Fundación Lealtad work with companies?

“Apart from the information and tools available on our website which include: powerful search engines (by NGO or type of collaboration sought), the above mentioned reports, a database with NGO’s projects information, a catalogue of services offered by NGOs to companies, a section where companies can publish the social requirements they want to fulfil, etc. Fundación Lealtad also offers companies and corporate foundations which have an interest in financing or working with NGOs the possibility of signing an agreement. This agreement allows the relationship to go one step beyond as it will mean companies are invited to a series of events that we organise to bring companies and NGOs together. We normally choose “hot” topics in which both companies and NGOs have an interest and we organise specific events covering them.

Last year we organized a number of workshops which dealt with corporate volunteering, this year we are working on a portfolio regarding people with disabilities in order to provide companies with projects and services that will help them to comply with current Spanish legislation on this matter and as it has been the case for the last three years we have organized the “Multientrevista”, an event which allows companies and NGOs to carry out 30 minutes’ meetings in the same morning and in the same place.

In relation to big donors, Fundación Lealtad offers them a series of specialised services known as “Servicios Filantrópicos para Grandes Patrimonios” (Philanthropic Services for Big Donors). The aim of these services is to help big donors to channel their philanthropic needs.”

All the services that Fundación Lealtad provides both to companies and NGOs are free of charge.