Pro-bono consulting

Our Management & Leadership programs focus on our senior managers’ knowledge and management skills. Our employees offer their expertise to social businesses, microfinance institutions or educational institutions – be it in Germany or abroad.

Empowerment through shared competencies

Nonprofit organizations seek support in many areas and benefit from expert knowledge. The approach of our programs is to provide advice at eye-level. In our volunteering initiatives, employees engage in an active dialogue, share their management knowledge and experience with school administrators, founders of social businesses or nonprofit organizations worldwide concerning financing, quality management, project coordination, human resource management, marketing and more. The advice of Deutsche Bank employees enhances capacities in the third sector and provides sustainable support for self-empowerment.

119 employees have assisted 75 long-term projects in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Balkans since 2008.

Advice at eye-level

More than 14,000

hours pro bono consulting invested by Deutsche Bank employees to enhance the capacities of social enterprises or charities.

Source: Deutsche Bank, global survey on employee engagement 2015.

Deutschbankers offer their expertise to social enterprises and non-profit organisations

One in five employees — more than 17,000 people globally — volunteered over 185,000 hours in 2015. They support local community projects, mentor young people or even take on assignments abroad. Many of them offer their experience and business skills to support, underresourced charities, non-profit or community organisations, and entrepreneurs for social good and help them to find solutions to their toughest challenges.

Through the global Corporate Community Partnership (CCP) and the Yunus Social Business (YSB) programmes, Deutsche Bank employees are matched with non-profits in developing and emerging countries. The first coaching phase of the Yunus Social Business programme has started in Albania, Bosnia and Serbia in mid-March. Five Deutschbankers take part in this project. Another colleague will support the Balcan team, by accompanying a Due Diligence of an Albanian social enterprise in Germany.

The selection process for the Uganda Accelerator programme also started recently. Four employees of Deutsche Bank will be seconded as coaches from June/July onwards. Moreover, two Deutschbankers will offer their expertise to the YSB Social Success Note — a new and unique financial tool, jointly launched by YSB and the Rockefeller Foundation, that channels capital flows into underfunded sectors traditionally deemed too risky or unprofitable for mainstream capital. It also enables social enterprises to deepen their impact, e.g. by targeting an underserved segment which would not meet traditional Internal Rate of Return (IRR) investment hurdles.

develoPPP

partnership with GIZ

In their joint partnerships, Deutsche Bank, the GIZ and development cooperation organizations pool their strengths to advance development and bring about sustainable improvements in living conditions.

How Deutsche Bank staff advise nonprofit organizations

Corporate Community Partnership, Myanmar

Johannes Kippenberger and Maria Guadalupe Mora contributed to the establishment of an efficient and stable banking sector in Myanmar.
Better Rice Initiative Asia, Thailand

Nina Meyerjürgens and Henning Oldenburg supported the Thai BRIA project with cost efficiency analyses, development of alternative funding models and strategic consultancy.
Better Rice Initiative Asia, Thailand

In February 2015, Deutsche Bank employees Sven Sievers and Karolis Verseckas joined forces with the Better Rice Initiative Asia (Bria) in Bangkok. They used their experience and expertise to find ways to improve the rice value chains in cooperation with regional forces while gaining a profound insight into Thailand’s (business) culture.
Banking and Finance Academy, Uzbekistan

When theoretical foundation meets practice – Deutschbankers Markus Müller and Heiko Emmel initiated a lecture course on Finance, Investment Decision Making and Corporate Finance at the Banking and Finance Academy (BFA) of the Republic of Uzbekistan. "I am sure that all participants have benefited greatly in terms of education, interpersonal relationships and cultural exchange”, says Prof. Adkham Bekmuradov, acting Rector of BFA. The pilot project has turned into a program now supported by the GIZ.
Banking Association, Myanmar

Supporting the Myanmar banking sector with a special focus on SME-Finance – in their four-week series of training and coaching sessions Deutschbankers Annika Klein and Felix von Schmeling shared their knowledge and experience about financial products, processes and tools with Myanmar bankers. “I was lucky to get an insight in one of the most interesting financial markets of the world, because Myanmar’s banking sector is like a white spot on the map – I’m sure it will change soon”, states Klein.
Mountains of the Moon University, Uganda

Deutschbankers Delores Rubin, Oliver Florschuetz and Michael Wiemer shared their skills and competencies with Uganda’s first community-based Mountains of the Moon University. They have developed a “Banking and Development Finance”-curriculum as well as engaging teaching methods and forged new connections with local businesses and other learning institutions.
Be! Fund, India

Clearing plastic trash from the streets and creating jobs is one of the business ideas that would hardly happen without “Be! Fund”. Starting a social business in India is difficult due to the lack of capital. Deutschbanker Joris Hensen helped nonprofit organizations to launch and to convince sponsors of their success. During a second visit Hensen conducted a pre-study and designed innovative concepts to teach people in poverty financial literacy skills.

Another coaching project is starting in Cambodia: two volunteers there support the Temple Garden Foundation in developing a communication strategy as well as a comprehensive portofolio. The Temple Garden Foundation works in partnership with local rural communities, acts as a catalyst for sustainable development and aims to accomplish this with carefully selected projects that maximise community involvement and reduce reliance on external funding by governments and NGOs. Since 2011, Deutsche Bank has supported the Foundation´s Income Generation Programme that provides a mechanism for savings as well as access to loans for the rural community. Training includes teaching best practice in various agricultural ventures to help community members develop and improve business activities, supplement existing income streams and ensure savings and low interest credit is available, when required.

A substantial success of the CCP Programme has been achieved in Myanmar. Since 2014, ten employees have assisted local banks in improving their services and in training their staff on best bank practices in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Currently, the programme is turned into a long term strategic alliance - a Public Private Partnership (PPP) - between Deutsche Bank, GIZ and the Yangon University of Economics.

In South East Asia, Deutsche Bank is also engaged in the Better Rice Initiative Asia (BRIA) in Thailand as part of the CCP Programme. Together with GIZ, the Deutsche Bank employees support the development of a sustainable rice farming sector. During the last two secondments, Deutschbankers have evaluated cost-efficiency and feasibility of various new sustainable agricultural technologies, developed financing models and consulted small farmers in order to facilitate an access to financing sources. In the medium run, it is also planned to scale these activities into PPP's.

Since 2008, a total of 119 Deutschbankers have helped to empower 75 CCP and YSB projects in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Balkans.

Strenghtening schools

Schools today are undergoing significant change. In the future, they should be managed less by ministries and local education authorities and instead be given greater freedom to develop into small enterprises. But management skills are not part of the traditional training of school administrators. The Partners in Leadership initiative aims to help them master those skills.

Neue Impulse für die Mörikeschule in Backnang — Strengthening leadership, acting as partners – Jens-Eike Decken, Brigitte Sorg and Klaus Lindner (from left to right)

“I would immediately say ‘yes’ again”

Jens-Eike Decken with Deutsche Bank in Stuttgart advises and accompanies school administrators at Mörike School in Backnang, near Stuttgart. Under the Partners in Leadership program, school administrators and managers tackle the various challenges confronting schools today, such as quality management, human resource planning, public relations and communication skills as well as team building, organizational development and the ability to convey the need for greater parental involvement. Mörike School hopes to become a comprehensive school, which many view as a model of the future. Jens-Eike Decken is making a contribution to the school’s efforts by strengthening its leadership in the long term.

“It’s a true partnership – and it works great.”

Jens-Eike Decken, Deutschen Bank Stuttgart

Partners in Leadership at a glance

Since 1999, managers from more than 1,200 companies and over 5,000 school administrators in the UK have participated in the Partners in Leadership program. In Germany, Deutsche Bank has supported the program since 2006 in an effort to contribute to the development of education equality. In February 2011 Deutsche Bank, together with other companies, was honored for its engagement in schools with the Generali European Employee Volunteering Award in the category “innovation”.