What mark do we want to leave in the world? The question goes far beyond the wealth we accumulate throughout our lives. For some people, the true value of their resources is also measured in what they can contribute to others: protecting the environment, contributing to social well-being, or supporting initiatives that can generate lasting change in the world. However, between the willingness to help and the implementation of a project that achieves results there is a path that requires time, certain knowledge and a willingness to constantly learn.
How to choose a cause? What formula allows the available resources to be channeled? How can we know if our contribution is achieving what we set out to do? To answer these questions, ABANCA has developed a new philanthropy advisory service specifically designed to accompany individuals, families and companies of its private banking segment in the definition, structuring and development of its social and environmental impact projects.
The proposal places the entity at the vanguard of the banking sector in Spain by adopting a highly consolidated practice in the main international private banking firms. It is a way of understanding wealth management transversally and beyond strictly economic assets. With it, they seek to accompany their clients in the process from personal or family concerns to finding the most effective way to channel them, either with their own projects or by collaborating with other entities that are a reference in these areas.
That’s what it says Armando Fandos, team leader of Private Banking Non-Profit Entities and Impact of ABANCAwho highlights that “we want to help our clients understand that, beyond donation, philanthropy is a tool with which it is possible to build long-term projects that are truly transformative and generate impact.”
They will be able to achieve this “thanks to the close collaboration with our Social Work, Afundación, and our deep knowledge of the ecosystem of non-profit entities, because we offer expert support throughout the entire process.”
Philanthropy is not just about giving: it is also about building a legacy
Although we usually associate philanthropy with financial donations, its scope can be much greater. It consists of dedicating resources to causes of general interest, but also identifying needs, defining objectives and developing initiatives that can be maintained over time.
One of the aspects that distinguishes this proposal is that it is not limited to facilitating contact with an organization or a charitable cause. The service is structured in three phases that allow us to go from an initial intention to a project with objectives and monitoring mechanisms.
The first consists of define the client’s vision. Before deciding where to allocate resources, it is necessary to identify what moves you to act and what social or environmental problem you want to address.
Once priorities have been identified, strategy design begins. More technical issues come into play here, such as the analysis of the appropriate legal and fiscal vehicles to develop the initiative. The creation of strategic alliances is also studied.
The third phase focuses on understand the impact achieved. Analyzing what has been achieved makes it possible to introduce improvements, optimize processes and detect new opportunities for collaboration.
This approach seeks to provide rigor and continuity to philanthropic initiatives, adapting support to the interests and needs of each client.
PLANCTON has already removed more than 164 tons of waste
To show how this new form of collaboration can materialize, ABANCA has chosen a first environmental cause linked to its Social Work: Afundación’s PLANCTON projectan initiative dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of marine and river ecosystems.
Launched in 2021, PLANCTON works to protect these natural environments through actions that combine direct intervention and awareness-raising. Its results allow us to get an idea of the dimension that this type of initiative can achieve: since its creation, the actions developed within the framework of the program have managed to remove more than 164 tons of waste from coastal environments.
Furthermore, clients who wish to do so will be able to collaborate both through financial contributions and through active participation in the awareness-raising and coastal cleaning sessions that are organized.
But PLANCTON is only the starting point of a proposal that ABANCA intends to progressively expand with new philanthropic causes. The entity will reinforce synergies with Afundación and other third sector organizations.
The launch also represents a new step in the bank’s specialization strategy, initiated with the creation of its Non-Profit Entities and Impact unit. This structure constitutes one of the bases on which the new service is based and, through it, ABANCA consolidates a relationship model with its clients not only as a financial partner, but as a key actor in promoting social transformation and sustainable development.
Because, when we talk about legacy, not everything is measured in assets, investments or figures. It also counts what we manage to change, the causes to which we contribute and the opportunities we help create for future generations. That is the idea behind this new proposal: that heritage not only has value for those who own it, but can also leave a lasting positive mark over time.