Banca Cívica signs strategic alliances in the United States with social organizations Mary’s Center and Ashoka
Banca Cívica has signed strategic alliances in the United States with both Ashoka and Mary's Center, two renowned, socially-minded organizations, to promote Civic Banking in the USA.
Through this agreement, the three organizations seek to mutually benefit each other - Ashoka and Mary’s Center can obtain financing for their social projects, thanks to the fact that Banca Cívica conveys a percentage of its profits to the organizations which its customers choose. Banca Cívica reaps benefits from this because these social entities foster this model amongst its employees, partners and volunteers.
Ashoka is the leading entrepreneurial network in the world. Since its foundation in 1980, it has provided key support to over 2,000 entrepreneurs in 60 countries, having an impact on over one million people. Mary’s Center is a community-based center offering medical, social and educational services to low-income families who are not covered by medical insurance. The work conducted by Mary’s Center is especially noteworthy if we consider the fact that there are 48 million people without health care coverage in the United States and this makes it enormously difficult for people to get suitable medical care.
In 2009, 10 projects from the United States received funds from Banca Cívica customers in order to carry out their proposals. Up until now, in 2010, a total of 16 projects originating from U.S. non-profit organizations have participated in Banca Cívica's social grid; already among them are those from Ashoka and Mary’s Center. Banca Cívica is aiming to launch its U.S. banking operations in Q1 2011, as long as it attains the corresponding licenses.
The business model which Banca Cívica will apply in the United States will be based on the one which is currently being applied in Spain. It is a financial management initiative which relies heavily on its social aspect, with highly-advanced digital channels and close commercial ties with non-profit organizations. Its customers will decide where the bank's socially-minded investments will go - determined as a percentage of the annual profits - and the social organizations will contribute to increasing the number of customers among its own employees, partners and volunteers. This is how it will attain financing for its socially-minded projects.
Within this context, Banca Cívica is in the final stages of formalizing its strategic alliances and is finalizing the signing of agreements with a select group of U.S. non-profit organizations. The members of Banca Cívica's strategic alliances network will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Social Entrepreneurs: Solutions for a Better World
Ashoka was founded in 1981 by Bill Drayton, who coined the term ‘social entrepreneur.’ Bill Drayton has been recognized and awarded by such prestigious institutions as Yale, the American Society for Public Administration, and the National Academy of Public Administration, and in 2005, he was named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the United States' best leaders. U.S. President Bill Clinton nominated him to receive the Nobel Prize.
Ashoka has already presented its project to Banca Cívica's social grid, in which it seeks financing to support social entrepreneurs. Social entrepreneurs are people with innovative solutions to society's most pressing problems. Its goal is to provoke large-scale change, seek solutions to problems by changing the system, instead of leaving society's needs in the hands of governments or business sectors.
The financing received from Banca Cívica will provide Ashoka with resources to put into motion scholarships, professional services and a powerful worldwide network of social entrepreneurs. It also helps them to disseminate their innovations on a global level. Additionally, Banca Cívica will provide support to Ashoka in the development of its Youth Venture program in Spain, whose goal is to spread its 'we-can-all-change-the-world' vision among youth.
Mary’s Center, Social Programs for Low-Income People
Mary’s Center was founded in 1988 in order to help immigrant women, arriving into Washington, DC from Latin America, providing them with pre-natal and post-partum care services. As time has gone by, the work it conducts has extended to medical services for the entire family as well as social and educational programs for children, teenagers and adults. In 2009, Mary’s Center, which has three centers in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, attended to more than 17,000 families from 40 countries. About 82% of the people attended were of Latin American origin; thousands of mothers have given birth at the clinic.
María Gómez, President and CEO of Mary’s Center, states that “the alliance with the Banca Cívica Group opens up new economic and cultural horizons and allows us the opportunity for people to get to know us better and obtain resources for our community which is getting harder and harder to do. I feel quite honored of being a part from the beginning of this project in the United States.”
Mary’s Center was founded by María Gómez, who is regularly invited to meetings at The White House to discuss issues affecting the Hispanic community. In fact, this center was the first NGO to be visited by Michelle Obama as First Lady. Upon meeting with youth at Mary’s Center, Michelle Obama pointed out that “here, there is a pre-K center, another one for teenagers, as well as aid to go to college. This is the kind of community center which not only helps women and children but also the entire family. This is a unique model and one which is important to follow. You are very lucky to have such a center and the communities there are throughout the country need these kinds of means.”