BNP Paribas employees regularly take action to aid the victims of humanitarian crises. However, until a few years ago, there was still no system in place to centralize their efforts. In 2012, BNP Paribas answered the call by creating the "Rescue & Recover " donation fund. Now employees can take action quickly when humanitarian crises occur, while also providing continuous support to NGOs working on "forgotten" crises.

Stronger Together

Upon its creation, the Rescue & Recover Fund immediately formed a partnership with three leading NGOs who consistently offer the highest quality and professionalism in their fields: CARE, the French Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. Their expertise and knowledge of local territories enables rapid and efficient action in helping those at risk and ensures that Rescue & Recover funds get to the right people at the right time. In addition, their complementary fields of expertise and areas of intervention cover a broad scope, allowing them to respond no matter the type of emergency.

The way the fund works is simple:

  • A call for donations can be issued within 48 hours of an emergency.
  • Each employee can make an individual donation in any amount.
  • The Group provides a matching contribution for every donation, up to a combined annual amount of €2,100,000.
  • At the end of the fundraising campaign, the funds are split equally between the three NGOs.

For each employee donation to the fundraising campaign, the BNP Paribas Group provides a matching contribution.

Heartwarming generosity

Originally created to respond to the desire of current employees to help in a time of need, the Rescue & Recover fund quickly expanded its scope of action to include former employees. Former BNP France employees who are members of the ADR association of retired employees can now also donate to the fund. In May 2015, the fund also began accepting donations from BNP Paribas's French customers.
In both cases, the Group still offers a matching contribution, thus doubling every donation!

The tool has quickly proven effective. It has been mobilized following humanitarian crises (Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, floods in India) and to aid "forgotten crises" requiring continuous support, such as the refugee crisis, maternal and neonatal health and access to water resources.

In addition, the amounts raised by employees are vastly exceeding expectations! Since its launch, the fund has collected over €1.5 million for the Rescue & Recover Fund's partner NGOs. Recently, following the terrible earthquake that shook Nepal, the fund raised the record sum of €250,000. Once the Group added its matching contribution, a total of €500,000 was collected to benefit CARE, the French Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders to support their work in the Himalayan country.

€1.5 million in funds raised since the launch of the fund in 2012


© CARE/Peter Caton

Strength in unity

Everyone gives what they can. After the earthquake in Nepal, donations ranged from €7 to €10,000!
Even the smallest contribution is crucial, both because donated amounts are doubled by the Group's matching contribution, but also because the fund depends on the commitment of all, with each campaign combining the efforts of thousands of employees. And now, customers can even do their part, too.

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