The VINCI Foundation for the Community winner of the 2011 Admical Oscar for corporate philanthropy

10 May 2011 - Sustainability

The VINCI Foundation for the Community won the corporate sponsorship award at the 20th International Corporate Philanthropy Summit organized by Admical (Association for the Promotion of Industrial and Commercial Philanthropy) in Marseille. The award, shared with the Schneider Electric Foundation, recognises exemplary corporate contributions in the service of the public interest.

The VINCI Foundation for the Community was set up in 2002 by VINCI, the world's leading concessions and construction group, to implement its desire to act as a long-term partner in the community, thereby combining economic success and humanistic objectives. It supports and contributes to initiatives led by the men and women for whom VINCI builds and manages engineering structures and infrastructure serving the public interest, with two priorities: promoting access to employment and building better communities.

Acting against all forms of exclusion
The aim of the Foundation is to act against all forms of exclusion: facilitating access to employment for people excluded from the labour market (integration through employment, training and basic qualifications, promoting mobility as a condition of employability) and developing community actions (contributing to social integration, citizenship education for young people, access to housing).

Human and financial support
As the link between the expertise of VINCI employees and social sector players developing innovative initiatives in their sector, the Foundation systematically provides two forms of assistance: a grant aimed at supporting investment in a new activity, further development or innovation (the Foundation has contributed over €14 million since 2002 – an average of €17,000 – to finance this investment), and long-term human support in the form of VINCI employees' skills, with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of social-sector players and organisations (more than 1,000 sponsors).

Since its creation, the VINCI Foundation has supported 920 projects, primarily in France but also in a number of other countries. More than 1,000 sponsors have contributed a very varied range of skills to meet concrete requirements over the longer term.

Social innovation and sustainability
The VINCI Foundation focuses on innovative actions with the aim of encouraging small-scale pilot initiatives and validating new forms of combat against exclusion in start-up periods when it is difficult to find financial partners. To this end, it identifies best practices in the field of project management and sponsorship.
The VINCI Foundation supports actions with a long-term objective, giving priority to creation of sustainable mechanisms for social or professional integration that can serve large numbers of vulnerable people.

Rooted in local communities throughout the world
With the help of VINCI employees, the Foundation supports concrete actions designed to achieve long-term results. It therefore encourages local initiatives in places where the Group is active. In order to adapt to the different contexts, it supports creation of "sister" foundations: two such foundations are already active in the Czech Republic and Germany and others will soon be created in other countries.

 

About VINCI
VINCI is a global player in concessions, energy and construction, employing 280,000 people in more than 120 countries. We design, finance, build and operate infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life and mobility for all. Because we believe in all-round performance, we are committed to operating in an environmentally, socially responsible and ethical manner. And because our projects are in the public interest, we consider that reaching out to all our stakeholders and engaging in dialogue with them is essential in the conduct of our business activities. Based on that approach, VINCI’s ambition is to create long-term value for its customers, shareholders, employees, partners and society in general.