- Investments
Investments
"Bell's funding of Community Economic Development Technical Assistance Program (CEDTAP) builds the capacity of community-based organizations working in disadvantaged communities."
Ka-Hay Law, CSR Advisor - Canadian Business for Social Responsibility
We believe that strong communities are prosperous communities, and that Canada's future is being determined today as we unleash the potential of our children, no matter what the challenges. That's why we concentrate our community investments on initiatives that focus on healthy children and youth. Our employees are generous and active volunteers. We recognize their contribution of personal time by providing grants to the charitable organizations they serve.
Connected to Communities
Shareholders expect a solid financial return on their investment. Similarly, Bell Canada expects its social investments to have a positive, measurable impact. We invest in registered charitable organizations whose primary activities occur in Canada and are consistent with our "Connected to Communities" (C2C) social vision. We favour initiatives that support our focus on healthy children and youth, and make the greatest positive impact in one or more of our key markets of Ontario, Québec, Alberta and British Columbia.*
*Note: To be considered national, programs must operate fully in at least two of the above regions and in Canada's two official languages.
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 23.3 | 18.1 | 15.9 |
| Youth and Education | 12.2* | 7.6 | 5.2 |
| United Way/Centraide | 2.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| Community Development | 1.5 | 0.9 | 4.0 |
| Health | 3.5 | 3.6 | 1.8 |
| Employee programs (company portion only) | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Other | 1.56 | 2.7 | 2.0 |
*Includes a $3.0 million contribution to Olympic "Own the Podium" program.
Commitment to Community Building
Bell Canada has joined eleven other leading Canadian companies in rising to the Leadership Challenge. Together, we have committed to supporting Imagine Canada and working to increase the contribution of business to community building in Canada.
KEY OBJECTIVE : To increase corporate donations by 25% from 2005 to 2008.
Employee Engagement
Bell Canada encourages employees and retirees to actively participate in their communities, in many cases facilitating contributions and volunteer work with recognition grants and other programs. Our employee giving program is promoted widely throughout the company.
| 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations (by employees and retirees) | 1.53 | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| Volunteer work* | 318,826 hours valued at $5.37M |
277,026 hours valued at $4.67M |
218,000 hours valued at $3.7M |
*Estimated value based on Statistics Canada average hourly wage. Formula: number of hours worked at an hourly wage of $16.87
Measuring Success
How do we know whether our investments are effective? We ask our program partners to provide interim reports on impact, reach, relevance and overall success. School programs are a case in point. To evaluate their impact, we use metrics such as number of school boards, classrooms, and children who benefit from a program. We also consider qualitative outcomes like what children have learned. Another example is Kids' Help Phone which provides reports on call volumes, geographic reach, gender, call types and referrals.
Bell's Community Investment group adheres to the Board approved Community Investment policy and reports to the Corporate Governance committee on:
- Performance and evaluation of the community investment program including research results, employee participation in company giving programs, as well as an annual accounting of the total invested by category (Core, Stakeholder and Legacy).
- An annual business plan is presented for approval that addresses the program focus, key projects under development, program improvement initiatives such as web enabling the application process, the annual budget and communication plans.
- Approval for donations that require Board approval as per the Bell Canada authorization policy.
