Social Point
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Everybody has potential, but not everybody is given the opportunity to develop that potential. The bank is working hard to promote equal opportunities, using its ‘banking for better, for generations to come’ purpose as a compass. One of the ways we do this is through the ABN AMRO Social Point programme, which sees colleagues work to address local issues.
Thanks to Social Point, we can use our knowledge, experience and resources in the areas of financial resilience and entrepreneurship to help people who have fewer opportunities in society move forward. We focus on three main themes: financial resilience, entrepreneurship and life skills.
ABN AMRO colleagues provide both online and in-person job interview training, financial workshops and other courses aimed at developing skills. This includes courses designed to increase people’s chances of getting a job, advice from budget coaches and support with debt. Social Point also helps entrepreneurs to start and develop their businesses.
How these initiatives and courses are organised
We design the programmes for the various Social Point cities to match the needs of the local community. We actively stay in touch with residents and local social workers so that we know what’s needed and are aware of the social challenges that may make things difficult. This cooperation is essential, as it enables us to continuously develop new solutions that are truly geared to the most pressing needs of the community at any given time.
The regions introduce themselves
Social Point Amsterdam Zuidoost is a social impact programme that focuses on making an impact in Amsterdam Zuidoost. We are also affiliated with the Master Plan Zuidoost through the Social Point programme.
ABN AMRO has been a ‘resident’ of Zuidoost since 1985. Our offices on Foppingadreef are currently undergoing sustainable renovation work, and once this is finished, we’ll move a major part of our organisation to Amsterdam Zuidoost,
We want to become part of the local community wherever possible. One of the things we’ve done is to allocate space in our new building for use by local partners. Together with them, we’ll provide programmes for local people, such as courses in skills development and entrepreneurship.
We will also help to create equal opportunities in Amsterdam Zuidoost by working together with various local partners and providing internships and training places, so that young people can develop their potential.
Find out more
If you have any questions or ideas that we could put to use at Social Point Zuidoost, please email us at social.point.amsterdam@nl.abnamro.com. We’d be happy to discuss any social issues with you.
Amsterdam
Social Point Amsterdam Zuidoost is a social impact programme that focuses on making an impact in Amsterdam Zuidoost. We are also affiliated with the Master Plan Zuidoost through the Social Point programme.
ABN AMRO has been a ‘resident’ of Zuidoost since 1985. Our offices on Foppingadreef are currently undergoing sustainable renovation work, and once this is finished, we’ll move a major part of our organisation to Amsterdam Zuidoost,
We want to become part of the local community wherever possible. One of the things we’ve done is to allocate space in our new building for use by local partners. Together with them, we’ll provide programmes for local people, such as courses in skills development and entrepreneurship.
We will also help to create equal opportunities in Amsterdam Zuidoost by working together with various local partners and providing internships and training places, so that young people can develop their potential.
Find out more
If you have any questions or ideas that we could put to use at Social Point Zuidoost, please email us at social.point.amsterdam@nl.abnamro.com. We’d be happy to discuss any social issues with you.
Den Haag
At Social Point The Hague, we apply our knowledge, experience and resources to promote equal opportunities in The Hague. Working from the office on Koningskade, we mainly focus on entrepreneurship and financial resilience.
As well as in The Hague, we also operate in the Moerwijk neighbourhood, where we’re working with the municipal authorities to improve equal opportunities. Training courses are one of the options. We offer these training courses to people who run initiatives in the neighbourhood to ensure together that they can do their work even better. This year, we are broadening our focus to include another neighbourhood in The Hague so that we can help a larger group of people move forward. We will do this together with the current army of volunteers and entrepreneurs.
Cooperation with existing organisations is a key aspect of our work; we always try to forge ties rather than start things from scratch. We focus strongly on the local level, preferring to organise initiatives that really match and contribute to the target group, even if they ‘only’ apply to a small group of people.
Finally, we support social entrepreneurs from The Hague in telling their stories. This is because we’ve noticed that there are a great many initiatives in this city that people put their heart and soul into. We want to support these people in pursuing their passions and becoming successful.
Find out more
If you have any questions or ideas that we could put to use at Social Point The Hague, please email us at social.point.den.haag@nl.abnamro.com. We’d be happy to discuss any social issues with you.
Eindhoven
Social Point Eindhoven has been active in the Woensel neighbourhood since April 2023. We are in touch with the municipal authorities and various foundations, helping with a range of local surveys and the development of a district library.
Our main aim is to create added value when it comes to equal opportunities by cooperating with various local parties.
We mainly focus on three themes: Financial Fitness, Entrepreneurship and Skills Training.
Our work includes providing training courses to help young people with personal development and financial fitness, as well as ‘Banks in the Classroom’, an initiative run by our Foundation aimed at primary, secondary and vocational education. We also help with budget control and coaching for entrepreneurs, and look for ways to improve debt counselling.
Find out more
If you have any questions or ideas that we could put to use at Social Point Eindhoven, please email us at social.point.eindhoven@nl.abnamro.com. We’d be happy to discuss any social issues with you.
Rotterdam
Boasting over 170 different nationalities, Rotterdam is a world in itself. It’s a feisty, vibrant city with a wealth of fabulous cultures, people, wishes and dreams. It is one of the largest cities in the Netherlands, but also one of the poorest, with 18.5% of the population living below the poverty line.
Rotterdam has complex issues when it comes to equal opportunities, so there are countless possible themes where a social impact can be made. This makes it important to maintain focus and ensure that the initiatives we support have the desired effect. We’ve chosen to work more closely with a number of organisations.
The Social Point Rotterdam team consists of colleagues working to boost the financial resilience and personal leadership skills of young people in Rotterdam. They work alongside various other parties, including schools, colleges, social impact partners and welfare organisations, to devise a fine educational programme that will help to give these young people the basic financial knowledge and life skills they need to fulfil their ambitions.
Find out more
If you have any questions or ideas that we could put to use at Social Point Rotterdam, please email us at social.point.rotterdam@nl.abnamro.com. We’d be happy to discuss any social issues with you.
Utrecht
Utrecht is a social, entrepreneurial city, with a wealth of social initiatives and social enterprises. But it’s also a city with huge inequality and a wide range of social issues. Take growing poverty, for example, loneliness among the elderly, low levels of literacy and stagnating entrepreneurship.
Luckily, social organisations are firmly embedded in the various neighbourhoods to offer concrete help to people who need it. A lot of local people know where to find these organisations and their services are in regular demand, but the organisations themselves also face various challenges. This is where we can help, by providing courses or masterclasses relating to entrepreneurship or financial health, for example.
Here at Social Point Utrecht, we think it’s important to effectively meet the needs of these organisations. After all, they are in the best position to know what they need. The same goes for our collaboration with the City of Utrecht. We’re working together to boost the social ecosystem, so that there’s room for people to grow and become financially resilient.
Find out more
If you have any questions or ideas that we could put to use at Social Point Utrecht, please email us at social.point.utrecht@nl.abnamro.com. We’d be happy to discuss any social issues with you.
Zwolle
Social Point Zwolle works with various local foundations, entrepreneurs and government organisations to promote equal opportunities for the people of Zwolle. Colleagues actively apply their expertise and skills to boost financial resilience and social entrepreneurship within the city and the region.
Social Point Zwolle helps foundations in Zwolle to find the right volunteers. We help people to organise their finances, for example, to make their homes more energy-efficient, and we support people on a low income so that they can arrange a holiday with their family.
Find out more
If you have any questions or ideas that we could put to use at Social Point Zwolle, please email us at social.point.zwolle@nl.abnamro.com. We’d be happy to discuss any social issues with you.
Covenant between ABN AMRO and Amsterdam-Zuidoost
ABN AMRO and Amsterdam-Zuidoost go back a long way. ABN AMRO has been a ‘resident’ of Amsterdam-Zuidoost since 1985, and will return to the neighbourhood after its offices on Foppingadreef have been renovated. The new building will provide a physical space for Social Point, where programmes and initiatives aimed at promoting equal opportunities will be created together with local partners and residents. Amsterdam Zuidoost was the first place where Social Point launched, in 2021. This was part of the Zuidoost Master Plan and the underlying partnership covenant.
History of Amsterdam-Zuidoost and Social Point
ABN AMRO and Amsterdam-Zuidoost go back a long way. ABN AMRO has been a ‘resident’ of Amsterdam-Zuidoost since 1985, and will return to the neighbourhood after its offices on Foppingadreef have been renovated. The new building will provide a physical space for Social Point, where programmes and initiatives aimed at promoting equal opportunities will be created together with local partners and residents. Amsterdam Zuidoost was the first place where Social Point launched, in 2021. This was part of the Zuidoost Master Plan and the underlying partnership covenant.
Why a covenant?
Zuidoost is a dynamic district, bursting with diversity and entrepreneurship. The residents are creative, enterprising and proud to live here. At the same time, Zuidoost is not devoid of social, economic and societal challenges. Many of the local young people grow up in poverty and have significantly fewer opportunities than youngsters growing up elsewhere in Amsterdam.
But these are not the only challenges Zuidoost is facing. A lot of the residents don’t feel safe. And many of them don’t feel heard, seen or understood. The office area around Bijlmer ArenA station generates big money, while the surrounding neighbourhoods are among the poorest in the city.
The contrast and distance between the business world and the local community is vast. We’re a bank with a social mission, and we’re committed to creating equal opportunities, which is why ABN AMRO has joined the covenant.
In an effort to promote equal opportunities, the City of Amsterdam, residents, businesses, educational institutions, the Ministry of the Interior, the Police and various social organisations, have united in the ZO=Zuidoost alliance to devise and implement a strategy for the next 20 years: the Zuidoost Master Plan. The hope is that by 2040, young people in Zuidoost will have the same opportunities as youngsters elsewhere.
Our contribution has been laid down in the covenant, which specifies activities that we and the partners will undertake in order to achieve these goals. This partnership fits in with the both the Zuidoost district’s ambitions and ABN AMRO’s purpose of ‘Banking for better, for generations to come’.
Contents of the covenant
The partner covenant sets out the concrete agreements that form our long-term contribution to the Zuidoost Master Plan. ABN AMRO hopes that these agreements will have a positive impact on the district and its residents.
They are valid until 2040, and in line with the Zuidoost Master Plan. The agreements will be monitored each year, evaluated every three years, and amended or tightened up where necessary.
The results so far
We’ve been able to reach over 500 young people through activities, workshops, training courses and guest lectures at places including the Bindelmeer College, ROC Amsterdam and Stichting Life Skills. Working together with the Ondernemerswinkel and the Toekomstwinkel, we have provided knowledge to help local small businesses.
ABN AMRO and our facility supplier Facilicom have provided placements for several students from Zuidoost. Colleagues have used their knowledge and skills to supervise them, or to help at other foundations in Zuidoost. A network of Zuidoost partners has been created, and local residents are increasingly turning to us for partnerships or to share our knowledge.
Social projects with impact
Our new building will provide a physical space for Social Point. Together with local organisations, the Zuidoost Alliance and our colleagues, we are putting our programmes for youngsters and young adults into practice. These include training courses and workshops in the areas of financial resilience, entrepreneurship and life skills. Once the new head office in Amsterdam Zuidoost is completed, the physical Social Point space will provide a place for both entrepreneurs and local residents.
Plans for the future
We are working towards the opening of the new ABN AMRO home base on Foppingadreef, including the physical location of Social Point. In the meantime, we are continuing our impact programmes. New partners and activities join every year, enabling us to reach more youngsters and young adults and help them to grasp opportunities and develop their talent. Take a look at the Social Point page for more information.