Obsessed with your success
Table of Contents
Maintain a foundation of trust
Manage our impact responsibly
Supplemental reporting
Appendices and Glossary
Overview
Community investment
We believe all Canadians should have the opportunity to grow, succeed and thrive. Supporting resilient and inclusive communities creates value for our clients and our people and contributes to the strength of the Canadian economy.
OUR APPROACH
Our community partnerships are guided by our values and our strategic focus on business owners in Canada. We demonstrate our commitment through corporate donations, sponsorships, disaster relief funding and team member volunteer grants and matching initiatives, with a focus to promote inclusivity and enable business. Promoting inclusivity We believe Inclusion has Power and support initiatives that provide marginalized groups with the opportunity to succeed. We partner with organizations that promote equality and eliminate barriers to financial empowerment and literacy, skill development, learning and mentorship, and business opportunities. Enabling business We are obsessed with the success of Canadian business owners and their families. We partner with organizations that provide support and education to individuals and entrepreneurs to build foundational skills, knowledge, and connections to be successful in business. In 2023, we invested over $1.7 million in our communities, with approximately 57% of our corporate donations supporting organizations serving Black and Indigenous communities, immigrants and newcomers to Canada, Persons with Disabilities and vulnerable youth and women. This year in response to unprecedented fires that brought devastation to communities in Alberta, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, we provided $45,000 to the Canadian Red Cross Fund’s fire appeal, Food Banks Alberta and the Central Okanagan Food Bank to support members in affected areas. Team member volunteerism and matching programs We encourage our team members to invest in the communities where they live and work. Our Community Crews program provides an individual with up to three hours of paid time off to
CWB team member volunteers at their local Food Bank
participate in volunteer activities with their team on an annual basis. In 2023, our team members logged over 4,100 personal volunteer hours. We further supported our team members’ efforts by providing approximately $265,000 in matching grants related to: • Employee Volunteer Grants for team members who volunteer 30 or more hours in the community; • Funds for Fundraisers Grants for team members participating in pledge-based charitable fundraising events; and, • United Way campaign team member pledge matching. Engagement through our Community Council Our Community Council brings together leaders from across our organization, including leaders of certain ERGs to provide feedback and recommendations on significant funding requests and advocate for community investment initiatives and partnerships. We believe having more of our team members involved in community investment decisions will create a ripple effect and support us in creating a more sustainable future for all our stakeholders.
49 2023 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY STATEMENT
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