Supporting local communities and highlighting the work of good causes in our latest brand campaign

15 June 2020

5 min read

The Co-operative Bank is launching its new brand campaign today (Monday 15 June) featuring customers of The Bank who continue to make a difference to their local communities and who have had support from The Bank through its Customer Donation Fund.

Commenting on the new campaign Deb Darlington, Brand Director at The Co-operative Bank said; “Banks are a key service and play an important role in people’s day to day lives. Given the financial pressures that many will face in the current climate we wanted to create a campaign that shows people that we continue to be here for them, especially as they find new ways to cope and adjust to making it through these tough times. Our strong belief in community and our commitment to the values and ethics that we share with our customers really resonates with what is important right now.

“Our aim is to tell the stories of some amazing organisations and people who are already coming together and sharing their appreciation for even small acts of kindness, simple things that can actually mean a great deal. A sense of community has never been more relevant and where we can we want to help them make a difference to the people they support.”

The campaign will run throughout June and July and tells the stories of four organisations; Feeding Gainsborough, Active Impact, Sustainable Families and The Digital Life Skills Company. Each of these businesses have continued to support their communities and ensure they are helping those in their local area who most need it. They have also received up to £1,000 each through the Bank’s Customer Donation Fund to aid them in their important work.

More information about the businesses featured and the Bank’s Customer Donation Fund is available on the campaign page on the bank website.

The new campaign will feature across national and regional radio, YouTube and social media. It will also be on Good Loop as the Bank continues to use this programmatic platform to facilitate donations, which in this campaign, can be allocated to one of three of the featured community organisations.

Links to YouTube videos:

30 second film https://youtu.be/9aLOVWItdC8

15 second film https://youtu.be/u94gshy0aFw

Deb Darlington, continues: “The importance of community groups has never been greater and we wanted to use our platform to show the amazing work being carried out by real people and put them at the heart of our campaign. We have always had the co-operative values at the foundation of how we operate our business and we continue to work with others, supporting community interest groups and ensuring that we collaborate with our charity partners and raise awareness of the incredible work they do. This camaraderie is more vital now than ever and we’re proud that we have been able to make donations to help organisations who are seeing an unprecedented demand to their services while simultaneously having to adapt and evolve how they can maintain their operations due to the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.”

Additional to the main campaign the Bank is also creating content on money management, fraud awareness and education messages, and also amplifying the work of charity partners across its social channels. The wider campaign also takes the opportunity to say ‘Thank You’ to those who have been able to continue to help others and make a difference at this challenging time, especially those who have rallied to help the more vulnerable people within their communities. This includes Bank colleagues who are classed as key workers, and who have adapted and committed to keep branches open and be there to support customers who still need to access their local branch for their banking needs. The ‘Thank You’ communication is an email format letter from our CEO Andrew Bester who relays his gratitude to our colleagues and our customers for coming together and embodying the co-operative spirit.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that has impacted individuals and organisations of all scales across the UK, the Bank has allocated additional funding to charities including; NHS Charities Together, and to existing charity partners including; Refuge, Centrepoint and Amnesty International UK. The Bank has also increased the number of approved applications to the Customer Donation Fund. All 55 applications received were accepted and more than £50,000 has been issued to community groups to aid them with their crucial efforts at this difficult time.

More about the featured organisations and how they intend to spend their funding:

  • Feeding Gainsborough collect surplus food from local supermarkets, businesses and growers and give it to those most in need. They are using the fund to train 12 new volunteers to distribute more food packages to the vulnerable.
  • Active Impact work in the Gloucestershire area to create inclusive fun opportunities for disabled children to build their confidence and open their mind to new possibilities. They are using the fund to run the ‘Of course we can’ programme of events, enabling disabled children to enjoy new activities alongside their non-disabled peers.
  • Sustainable Families supports parents to raise confident self-aware children by building stronger parent-child connections. They are using the fund to run woodland sessions and Parenting by Connection training allowing parents to support other families in the local area.
  • The Digital Life Skills Company operates in Poynton, Cheshire and works to give children and young people a better digital future by empowering them to navigate the growing online world. They are using the fund to deliver workshops teaching parents and children to navigate the vast quantity of online information.

To find out more about the Co-operative Bank’s Community Donation Fund and the featured organisations visit: https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/business/community/customer-donation-fund/supporting-local-communities

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

About the Co-operative Bank

the Co-operative Bank plc provide a full range of banking products and services to almost 5 million retail and SME (Small and Medium Sizes Enterprises) customers. The Bank is fully committed to values and ethics in line with the principles of the co-operative movement.

For further information please contact

Nicki Parry, Head of Media Relations

The Co-operative Bank Press Office

Tel: 07734 002 983

Email: nicki.parry@co-operativebank.co.uk

Twitter: @CooperativeBank

Contact

Head of External Communications & Sustainability

Dan Chadwick

Mobile: 07724 701319

The Co-operative Bank Press Office

Landline: 0151 271 1985

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