Bank Hapoalim, Israel’s leading bank, is committed to active and leading involvement in Israeli society. This commitment stems from the advanced management philosophy that a business organization operating within a community, which draws both its workers and customers from that community, becomes an inseparable part of the community itself. As a leading business organization, Bank Hapoalim strives to strengthen the Israeli community and activate processes within this community that will generate positive results.
To this end, Bank Hapoalim holds a wide and diverse range of community activities that include social involvement, financial donations, and widespread volunteer activities. These community activities are carried out jointly by the Bank’s staff and management team.
Bank Hapoalim’s involvement in the Israeli community finds expression through numerous projects and channels of action such as the Poalim in the Community Foundation, which contributes to a wide range of organizations for the needy, and Poalim Volunteers, which includes widespread volunteer activities carried out by the Bank’s employees, both independently and in an organized fashion, with the support of the Bank’s management. These volunteer activities are also carried out through the Matan - Investing in the Community Foundation, the very first vision initiative of the Ted Arison Family Foundation, and the Read and Succeed project, carried out with the support of the Ministry of Education and aimed at encouraging children and teenagers to read.
In addition, the Bank's community work encapsulates other socially-oriented sponsorships that include funding for cultural and sports events, assistance for healthcare and educational institutions, donations of computers and other equipment to further the technological education of children and teenagers, and other activities that support culture and nature conservation in Israel.
As part of its commitment to social responsibility, Bank Hapoalim furthers the values of securing the human existence, including the cultivation and preservation of the environment in all fields. The Bank views nature and its resources as an asset belonging to the greater public, the community and future generations. In keeping with this philosophy, Bank Hapoalim strives to strike an appropriate balance between financial development and environmental protection, while paying close attention to the prevention of environmental damage, and upholding a commitment to managing our environmental influences in a manner that ensures continuous improvement. The Bank collaborates with public companies and other public bodies to promote environmental issues, works to educate its staff about the environment, and initiates and participates in community projects in the field of environmental protection.
The Bank’s contributions in the areas of community involvement and environmental protection, as measured in financial donations and in employee volunteer hours, totaled roughly NIS 45 million in 2007. The Bank was awarded the highest rating -- platinum -- from the Maala Index for Social Responsibility, which ranks Israel's largest public and private companies in the filed of corporate social responsibility.