UK bank Chase Bank has recently launched a new charitable initiative to improve children’s literacy rates by investing £1 million into primary school libraries. With 1 in 4 schools in underserved communities not having a library or a designated reading space, compared to the national average of 1 in 8, Chase is helping to change this. While charity is a positive venture for finance brands to give back to the community, it can also benefit them by improving loyalty, engagement and enabling them to reach a new consumer market. So, why should finance brands become involved with charitable initiatives?
Chase Bank launches charity initiative across the UK
Chase Bank is looking to improve children’s literacy levels in underserved communities, with 1 in 4 (27%) 11-year-olds in England leaving primary school unable to read well. Partnering with the National Literacy Trust, this program is a part of Chase Bank’s new ‘Chase Rewarding Futures’ venture.
Initially focusing on improving schools’ accessibility to resources, Chase aims to continue this program by empowering families and carers with the skills to improve their child’s literacy levels. This is the first part of their overall plan to invest back into underserved communities across England.
Why finance brands should promote their philanthropy
Finance brands can make large, positive changes for communities by aligning with and creating philanthropic initiatives. Additionally, aligning your finance brand with a charity can benefit your overall marketing strategy.
Benefits include:
- Loyalty – Charity and philanthropic initiatives can increase brand loyalty when practiced genuinely.
- Gain a Millennial and Gen Z audience – Millennial and Gen Z audiences are wanting their finance brand to represent their values and to do good. In fact, 81% of millennials say they want to support brands with corporate citizenship.
- Convert leads – Aligning with a charity and making your initiative a part of your overall content strategy can help generate and convert leads. With 71% of consumers saying they prefer to buy from companies that align with their values and shoppers under the age of 40 preferring to give back through where they shop, charity can help your finance brand acquire a new client base.
“ 71% of consumers say they prefer to buy from companies that align with their values.”
The key to aligning your finance brand with charitable initiatives
It’s not quite as simple for your finance brand to choose a charity and donate money to it. It’s critical that your finance brands’ philanthropy is genuine and aligns with your overall values. A finance brand choosing to align with an environmental organisation while simultaneously investing in large-scale mining is a contradicting charitable initiative and won’t have the desired effect.
Integrate your charitable initiative into your content strategy and showcase the progress you have made and contributed to in that space. For Chase Bank, they have a dedicated section on their site detailing their initiatives and it will soon become a space for the impact they have created. They have also made it a feature on their social media, sharing updates and events alongside the hashtag #ChaseRewardingFutures.
At the heart of it, your charity needs to align with your overall values and resonate with your target audience, if you want it to become a successful part of your overall marketing strategy.
