‘A donation for your old smart phone’ is catching on

Henry Mons, a colleague at Cooperation & Management, initiated this special campaign. ‘It represents a nice extra for the employee, the bank and our fellow human beings. You keep your old smart phone and your department isn’t saddled with a supply of old telephones. The donation to the Employee Fund is doubled by the bank, is spent entirely on charitable projects and it’s tax deductible. This way we’re able to help even more people in developing countries on the road to self-reliance. All in all, it’s a win-win situation.’ Donations are voluntary for smart phones that have already been fully depreciated, such as the Iphone 4 and 4S. For newer models, employees are being asked to make a donation equivalent to the economic value.

Come one, come all

The idea of allowing employees taking redundancy to keep their smart phones in return for a donation is catching on! Taking its cue from Cooperation & Management, Rabobank Almere has also embraced the scheme. ‘Because of changes within the organisation, we’re experiencing a rapid reduction in the number of employees’, says Nathal van Rijn, managing director at Rabobank Almere. ‘There’s not much point in collecting a large number of smart phones that have already been fully written down from employees who are leaving. That’s why I think it’s a really nice idea to give them the opportunity of taking over their phones and to pass on their contributions to the Employees’ Fund.’

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