Corporate Social Responsibility

Why does the Bank think it’s important to be involved in community development?

As a major company operating in London, we feel it is important to build strong relationships between the Bank, its employees and its community. Each year, we invest over £4million (cash and in-kind resources) in our local neighbourhoods, running programmes geared towards increasing access to education, improving employability skills, supporting entrepreneurship, and identifying opportunities to actively engage in the community.

How does the Bank decide which projects it should get involved with?

The UK Charities Committee meets on a monthly basis to review applications from potential community partners against agreed criteria. Guidelines reflect the issues of concern to a financial institution such as Deutsche Bank. The Community Development team work within this framework to identify appropriate community partners and projects.

How do I apply for funding?

Although we have a formal proposal system, we recommend that you initially submit a one-page summary document outlining details of your organisation (please include basic details such as your annual turnover, number of staff, location and current funders) as well as information about the project you would like support for. Even if you have not fully costed your project it is important that you provide an indication of the likely amount you are seeking from us. We also ask that you review our guidelines to check your request against our criteria. Our guidelines are quite focused and our budget is finite so there are a limited number of partnerships that we can develop each year.

How long does it take for proposals to be reviewed?

This depends on a number of factors. We endeavour to respond quickly to every enquiry but we receive a large number of requests for support so it can sometimes take a while to hear back from us.
In addition, we always work with organisations on proposals that we would like to pursue so the whole process can take up to 3-6 months depending on the strength of the document and available slots at the committee meetings.

My proposal was unsuccessful; can I apply again for a different project?

Yes. However, please check against our guidelines first. If your organisation generally falls outside of our criteria the chances are that the project you are seeking funds for will not be appropriate for us either.

What is the usual amount of funding you provide?

This is a frequent question and one we don't like to answer! We prefer that you cost your project realistically and fairly and then enter a discussion with us. We might not be able to support the full amount but we would prefer to work with you to secure alternative / matched funds and make the project viable than cut costs and inevitably reduce the impact of the project.

Will my project stand a better chance if it involved Deutsche Bank volunteers?

No. We have a very successful volunteer programme at the Bank because we are selective about the programmes we offer our staff. If there is a new and exciting opportunity available through your project then we are happy to discuss this further with you but we prefer that you do not “force” a volunteering opportunity into your project for the sake of it.