The beginning of a new year brings with it the hope of a better future. This feeling is epitomized by the work of colleagues at Aegon’s UK business as they finalize the list of charities with which they will partner for the next two years.
UK colleagues are asked to nominate and vote for a charity partner at each of Aegon UK’s locations. The results of the vote are then counted and, following the relevant due diligence checks, the new partners confirmed. The support colleagues provide to partners includes employee fundraising, which Aegon UK then double matches, as well as colleagues volunteering their time and providing the partners with publicity for their various causes.
Susan Cooney, Charity & Community Impact Consultant at Aegon UK, said: “While our fundraising and volunteering support is appreciated by larger nationwide organizations, we know it makes more of an impact on smaller local charities which often have limited funding and resources. We enter a two-year relationship with our charity partners so we can build a more meaningful partnership, where we can help them to reach more people in our community and they can help us become closer to the communities in which we work and live.”
Global Community Investment Framework
The charity partners typically focus on issues such as improving people’s mental health and wellbeing, providing support to disabled people, as well as other topics like suicide prevention.
The UK initiative is part of a wider Aegon program of supporting local communities via its Global Community Investment Framework, which is central to Aegon’s purpose of Helping people live their best lives, as well as delivering on one of our key behaviors that reflect our purpose: Being a Force for Good.
Kata Herczog, who leads Aegon’s community investment program, said: “Aegon has always strived to use its size and influence for the greater good. As part of our purpose to help people live their best lives, we invest over EUR 10 million in community projects every year. Our community investment efforts focus on enhancing inclusion by empowering people financially and socially. This is a global approach that we translate into local initiatives that make a difference.”
Force for Good Week
In 2023, Aegon launched its global Force for Good Week. From May 8 to 12, colleagues around the world rolled up their sleeves and lent a helping hand to the charitable organizations they care about the most in the communities in which they live and work. From the Netherlands to the US, colleagues donated their time to dozens of local causes.
“We’re more than a business—we’re neighbors and community members too,” said Maurice Perkins, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Transamerica. “That’s why we step up to support the issues that matter to us. It’s also why we founded the Aegon Transamerica Foundation, a nonprofit that supports our corporate philanthropy.”
Local support
Colleagues in the US demonstrated their ability to be a “force for good” for local residents via activities such as packing food and supplies for families in need, preparing and planting flower beds for older adult homeowners and teaching young people about budgeting, credit and financial planning.
Supporting local children is also a focus of colleagues. Since 2012, the team at Aegon THTF Life Insurance in China has participated in the "Morning kid" project, which is organized by the YICAI Foundation. Over the years, this initiative has delivered almost half a million breakfasts to students and teachers at local schools. Colleagues in the UK support local children through a series of breakfast clubs. These help to ensure that children have a healthy breakfast and are in a good position to learn, while also supporting parents by enabling them to work additional hours, knowing that their children are in a safe environment.