Socially responsible companies throughout the region, through CSR activities, support their communities daily, respond to various needs and contribute to solving critical issues.

Our data show that the role of the business sector in the Western Balkans' philanthropic ecosystem is becoming increasingly important year by year and that corporate donors are almost always among the top 3 donors. In 2021, the business sector donated the largest recorded amount in North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo.

The beginning of this year showed that companies continue to contribute to the common good and change the communities in which they operate for the better with their activities.

Below, read stories about twelve examples of social responsibility by which companies in the region have shown care for their community.

Half a million KN for the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb

M+ Group supported the Croatian National Theater in the amount of half a million KN, part of which will be realized in the services that this corporation provides typically to the world's leading banks, telecoms, technology, energy, logistics, and other companies.

The current and future audience of HNK will get a user experience similar to the users of some of the world's most substantial companies, as stated in the donation announcement.

Bingo and Nelt provided 10,000 KM for SOS Children's Villages

Bingo, the largest shopping chain in Bosnia and Herzegovina, recently conducted a campaign to help SOS Children's Villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this action, they had the support of the Nelt company, so together, they collected the funds needed to cover part of the living expenses of families with poor financial conditions.

By purchasing 7Days croissants and Milka chocolate in Bingo stores in the past month, customers could participate in a fundraising campaign to support the work of the SOS Children's Village. 10,000 KM was donated to SOS Children's Villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina through the joint action of Nelt and Bingo.

One of our most important strategic moves is support for children and young people, and we strive to transfer this positive business practice to our partners. Nelt is easy to work with, given that they share the same values, said Tatjana Paunoski, Head of Trade Marketing at Bingo.

The company Nelt expresses satisfaction that we are cooperating with SOS Children's Villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the seventh year. As a socially responsible company, we believe that society as a whole should strive for positive changes and take care of our youngest, our future, added Biljana Lackanović, assistant to the executive director of Nelt.

During the past year, SOS Children's Villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina provided care for 216 children and young people and directly supported 437 socially vulnerable families through the Family Strengthening Program.

Bingo and Orbico donated 5,000 KM to SOS Children's Villages

Support for the efforts of SOS Children's Villages in BiH to ensure that every child grows up in a family environment came from two more companies.

With a donation of 5,000 KM, separated from the sale of Glade Winter items in Bingo stores, these two companies and customers supported children growing up in SOS Children's Villages.

The best business stories are the ones that make people smile. Orbico, Glade, our customers, and we told another such story. We continue to provide support to SOS Children's Villages in BiH. We are glad to be their best friend and the initiator and platform for the good deeds of our business partners who have the same mission as Bingo, said Tatjana Paunoski, head of trade marketing at Bing.

Employees of UniCredit Bank donated books to the Iskra Women's Association

Employees of UniCredit Bank Banja Luka recently visited the Iskra Association of Women Suffering from Breast Cancer and handed them the books and messages of support they had collected.

The action of collecting and donating books is a continuation of the action "My circle of support," which, for many years, has been carried out jointly by Unicredit Bank in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the company VISA and the Think Pink Association - Together We Are One.

Dragana Janjić, a member of the Management Board of UniCredit Bank Banja Luka, said on the occasion of this donation that they started the book collection campaign in October - the month of the fight against breast cancer.

In this way, we wanted to help the members of the Association in their rehabilitation and make the time they spend in the Association more pleasant. Our employees, along with each of the books donated, also wrote a message of support which, we believe, will mean more to these women, she added.

Donation of NLB Bank to the University Clinical Center of Kosovo

NLB Bank donated didactic materials, tools, and inventories to the speech therapy cabinet of the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (QKUK) that are necessary for the treatment of children with communication or cognitive disorders, as well as voice and swallowing disorders.

The Economic Bank of Kosovo supported the action for the Pediatric Clinic

The Economic Bank of Kosovo recently supported the action, organized for the Pediatric Clinic in Prishtina by Care for Kosovo Kids and the Alpine Club of Pristina. As part of the action, male and female climbers, disguised as superheroes, prepared a surprise for the little ones staying at the Pediatric Clinic.

Young men and women trained and prepared for this event performed on the upper floors and balconies of the clinic, being released on each floor and visiting each patient. The activity was organized to support and entertain children suffering from different illnesses, especially leukemia.

Three monitors were donated through the Big Love for Little Heroes campaign

In Montenegro, out of an average of 7,000 newborns annually, 6 to 10 percent are premature babies.

Intending to support these children's health and proper development, IDEA and Jana implemented an action, Big love for little heroes.

 Thanks to the campaign, three monitors for monitoring the health status of newborns were provided, worth 10 thousand euros, which were donated to the Center for Neonatology of the Institute of Children's Diseases.

Citizens of Montenegro also participated in the campaign by purchasing Jana products in IDEA stores.

The companies IDEA and Jana, the organizers of the action, emphasize that this donation is significant because it shows all the love and support they send to the little heroes. They hope that the monitors will contribute to the best care and treatment of the little ones at the Center and thank the consumers who were part of the action.

Jumbo provided a new look for kindergartens in Durrës and Valona

The children of Kindergarten 1 Maji in Durrës and the little ones in Kindergarten 10 in Vlora welcomed the end of the year festive atmosphere in renovated entertainment environments. Jumbo enabled the building of the playground and the renovation of the entire outdoor space in both kindergartens for a complete educational process. Almarin Liço, CEO of Jumbo, says that they aim to convey the joy of children to all children, even to the institutions that take care of them.

Caring for the well-being and upbringing of children of every category is essential in the social responsibility of our company, he says

Donated snow removal vehicle

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline Company has donated a snow removal vehicle to the municipality of Korçë, which will help the local community to ensure open roads during the winter season.

Johnson Matty, with 550 volunteers, participated in various actions throughout North Macedonia

During the last month, more than 550 employees of the Johnson Matthey company volunteered to support various projects throughout North Macedonia.

The activities included cleaning actions at different locations in Skopje, Kumanovo, and Veles, complete renovation of the electrical infrastructure in the Skopje Primary School for children with developmental disabilities Idnina, cleaning of classrooms, improvement of the marked floor with visual signage and making greeting cards with students in the Primary School for People with developmental disabilities Zlatan Sremec in Skopje and conducting interactive and creative workshops at the Kumanovo Regional Center for Intellectual Disabilities Poraka naša, at Maca Gjorgjieva Ovčarova in Veles and SOS Children's Villages in Skopje.

The action is part of the company's global program - #Jmvolunteers, which aims to support the community at all locations where Johnson Matthey operates.

SYNPEKS donated air purifiers for the children's and internal departments of the Bitol Clinical Hospital

SINPEKS Bitola donated air purification devices to the Bitolj Clinical Hospital.

These are the first air purifiers the hospital's pediatric and internal medicine departments in Bitolje received. The company donated 15 devices, and the hospital expressed gratitude, stressing that the need for these devices was highly significant.

This is not the first time that SINPEKS Bitola has donated air purifiers. Namely, in 2018, in cooperation with other companies from Bitola, devices were donated to kindergartens Estrea Ovadija - Mara and Mayflower.

The entire proceeds from the sale of Halki's picture book are donated to SOS Children's Village

Halkbank AD Skopje donated the entire proceeds from Halki's picture book sale in 2022 to support children, and young people cared for in SOS Children's Village Skopje. This activity is part of the long-term cooperation between the bank and one of the most dedicated organizations supporting children without parental care.

Halkbank published this picture book in cooperation with the Litera International Children's Literature and Illustration Festival. Its main goal is to encourage children to read books regularly and learn about values ​​such as environmental protection, socializing in nature, accepting diversity, and acquiring savings habits.

The picture was published in Macedonian, Albanian and Turkish, and Halkbank donated part of the circulation to more than 20 libraries throughout North Macedonia.

The picture book is still in the sale, and by buying it, you support the SOS Children's Village in North Macedonia, so if you want your copy, you can do so at the link.

Marija Mitrović, director of philanthropy and partnerships at the Trag Foundation, pointed out recently in an interview for economic.net that companies in Serbia invest more and more in the development of the community and turn to longer-term donations that are related to their activities.

If you know about companies and SMEs that in Serbia in 2021 made a remarkable contribution to the development of the community and the common good, nominate them for the VIRTUS Philanthropy Award, which is awarded this year for the sixteenth time in a row.