Aid Fund
We help those underprivileged and in need who have run into difficulties not through their own fault and cannot help themselves. We support institutions helping disabled children and people or those having social problems.
- Every month, we provide financial grants in the total amount of CZK 100,000 to support charity projects.
- Any non-profit organization registered and active in the Czech Republic is eligible for applying for a grant.
- The best projects from all regions of the Czech Republic are selected.
- The assignment of grants is subject to decisions made by an independent commission, consisting of six non-profit sector representatives and one Siemens representative.
- Siemens financial aid shall be allocated in full pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Aid Fund.
- We greatly respect partnerships with selected institutions and their projects.
Other charity projects
Training for the non-profit sector
- For three years, Siemens has been organizing free training for the non-profit sector in the summer months.
Two one-day seminars in Prague and in one city in Moravia (Olomouc or Brno) are designed for a hundred interested persons. In cooperation with Neziskovky.cz and free of charge, Siemens offers non-profit organizations such topics that can help with more professional management not only of their employees, but also of their entire organization.
The idea to extend the grant procedure of the Siemens Aid Fund charity project to include NGO education originated in 2007 when non-profit organizations showed interest in our experts’ know-how. In the first year, we offered the following topics for the free training: “How to draw attention to an organization”, “How to get a car in the cheapest way”, and “How to communicate with donors”.
For the year 2008, we selected two hot topics for the non-profit sector: “Fundraising and marketing in non-profit organizations” and “Team leadership and team member typology”. For the first part, we engaged a well-known lecturer from the University of Texas, Deborah Edward, Ph.D., who specializes in non-profit marketing, philanthropy and innovative approaches in the social field.
In 2009, we again focused on fundraising and its various forms. Prague training participants had the opportunity to attend an extra lecture on “Assessment of labor performance”.
Each workshop provides sufficient space for discussion and open dialogue between Siemens and non-profit sector representatives. After each seminar, the lecturers, the environment, the provided materials and the ideas for the next seminars are evaluated. We thoroughly evaluate all suggestions and are inspired by them when selecting topics for the coming workshops. Systematically, we have started a new tradition of supporting non-profit organizations in the form of education based directly on their needs. Until today, more than 300 people representing a total of 220 organizations from the entire Czech Republic have had the opportunity to take part in the seminars.
Volunteering
- For three years in a row, a corporate volunteering day of Siemens employees has taken place. In cooperation with civil associations Obcanske sdruzeni pratel Hendlova dvora and Spolecnost Sareckeho udoli and Lesy hl.m.Prahy, volunteers clean up the Divoka Sarka protected landscape. Siemens employees work for four hours: two from their working hours and two from their personal leisure time. Each year, some 7,000 liters of waste is removed from the Sarka area.
- We offer work in non-profit organizations to individual work teams as the best form of teambuilding. Individual projects are tailored to groups of Siemens employees.
Humanitarian aid
- In 1997, 2002 and 2009, we provided humanitarian aid to families affected by flooding and significantly contributed to the amelioration of flood damage in the Czech Republic. Both our employees and Siemens as a company contributed to the humanitarian aid. We are not indifferent even to natural disasters abroad (the tsunami in South East Asia in 2004 as well as the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China in 2008). Around a hundred Siemens employees, including top management members, regularly contribute financially.
Procuring products from sheltered workshops
- Each year we procure more than a thousand products from selected sheltered workshops. These products serve as Christmas presents for our most important customers. Together with the product, the customer receives information about the people working in the particular non-profit organization.
We lecture at universities
- Our experts lecture on CSR and corporate philanthropy at universities and thus convey their know-how and information from this field to the next generation.