Barclays is a UK-based financial services group. It has 25 million customers and 118,000 employees in over 60 countries. Barclays invests 1% of pre-tax profits (£46.5 million) per year in the community globally.
In designing the programme Barclays had three objectives: make a real and lasting difference in communities across the UK; develop recognition of the programme and engage Barclay’s staff.
In 2004 Barclays entered into a public/private partnership with The Football Foundation and Groundwork to create sustainable sports sites for local communities to engage in sports and physical activities in areas where such facilities or the means to develop them are lacking.
Areas within the top 20% most deprived wards were targeted for assistance and projects were also required to reference local regeneration strategies and specific targets for hard to reach and socially excluded groups). Above all, projects had to be community needs-led and sustainable, therefore cementing the future of the site in the local community. In 27 of the 200 sites Barclays also involved Barclays Premier League and Football League clubs developing larger sites. Awards of sports kit were also directed towards those groups in most need i.e. high index of multiple deprivation, social exclusion and those groups generally excluded from sport.
Barclays staff has been involved from the application stage. They have also volunteered by getting involved in the pre-launch site preparation work, being sports coaches and providing business skills advice. Throughout the programme there has been clear target-setting, monitoring, evaluation and revisions to the original programme plan where necessary.
