Supporting communities

Our award-winning Community Affairs program works to overcome disadvantage by improving outcomes and opportunities in our local communities. We do this through building long-term partnerships focused on Education and Social Entrepreneurship.

Through strategic investments and by harnessing the time and skills of our employees, we bring tangible benefits to our communities.

We support partners with:

A small number of carefully selected organizations

Two days per annum to volunteer

We’ve built sustainable and successful partnerships with charities and social enterprises. In the UK, we’ve supported the East London borough of Hackney for over 30 years, with The Bridge Academy as our flagship partner (a school for 11 − 18 year olds).

UBS’s award-winning Community Affairs program in EMEA focuses on long- term collaboration, harnessing the time and skills of our employees, to improve outcomes and opportunities in our local communities.

UBS partners with UnLtd to support early stage social entrepreneurs in the UK. The Hackney Connect program has provided young people (aged 18 to 30 years old) with training, mentoring and grants of up to GBP15,000 to set up initiatives to help tackle the social and environmental issues affecting their local communities.

Our employees are at the heart of program delivery and over 100 volunteers have supported the young social entrepreneurs through one-on-one mentoring, intensive skills development workshops, judging panels and events.

Building on the learning and the success of the Hackney Connect program, UBS is now funding UnLtd to run the East End Connect program, to support approximately 42 social entrepreneurs over the next three years in London.

Young people supported to set up a social enterprise

People employed as a result of the ventures' work in one year alone

Beneficiaries reached through the collective support of the social entrepreneurs that completed the program

Employee Volunteering is fundamental to what we aim to achieve in our communities. In the Europe, Middle East and African region, employees share their knowledge and skills to help tackle pressing societal issues. Our impact is tangible – from improving child literacy to capacity building social enterprises.

Germany

Our partner Kiron, winner of the UBS Social Innovator program 2017, enables UBS employees to mentor and inspire refugees as they restart their education.

Poland

The BizNes Class initiative maximises employees' project management skills to support 'business leaders' as they set up their new social enterprises.

Spain

Working in partnership with Fundacion Integra employees help tackle social exclusion by supporting a range of employability and confidence workshops.

South Africa

The Maths Centre provides wide ranging training and development events for schools, teachers and students. Our mentoring, strategic guidance and fundraising has been transforming lives for over 20 years.

UK

Over 7,000 employees have given 62,000 hours of skills based volunteer support to our flagship education partner, The Bridge Academy, a school in the top 5% nationally for disadvantage. Our support, ranging from strategic oversight to reading clubs, has transformed lives.

The UBS Community Affairs program in EMEA has had an enormous impact in our local communities for over 30 years. In the past decade the program has received more than 50 awards and accolades.

The prestigious Dragon Award was presented to UBS for our partnership with IntoUniversity to help disadvantaged students attain a place at university.

UBS was awarded Gold at the Global Good Awards for our commitment to driving positive change within the London Borough of Hackney for over 30 years.

UBS was awarded three Gold awards at the Corporate Engagement Awards for Innovation, Best Sports Program, and Most Effective Long-term Commitment.

UBS was awarded the Business Charity Award for our strategic partnership with Skills Builder to help disadvantaged children.