Long-term partnerships
Partnership is the foundation of UBS. Just as we take the time to engage closely with our clients in order to understand their particular needs, so we similarly build long-lasting relationships with our community partners. We have worked continuously with many non-profit organizations for over 30 years and continued to expand our Community Affairs program with new partnerships.

Targeted investment
To achieve maximum impact, we focus our resources primarily to benefit non-profit organizations in the fields of education and entrepreneurship, thereby building stronger communities. In doing so, we aim to assist our partner communities achieve sustainable growth and entrepreneurship and promote learning.

Active involvement
We do more than just give money. We encourage employees to volunteer their time and skills to contribute to the causes they care about. In 2012, 12,563 employees spent 110,065 hours volunteering.

Local commitment
Our activities are driven by our employees and the needs of the local communities. To ensure we understand these needs, we have dedicated Community Affairs teams in each region: they develop relationships with local organizations and ensure that our contributions have a significant, lasting and measurable effect.

UBS donations
In 2012, UBS and our affiliated foundations made direct cash donations totaling CHF 27.5 million to carefully selected non-profit partner organizations and charities, compared with CHF 31.1 million in 2011. Additionally, spending on the UBS Anniversary Education Initiative amounted to CHF 16.7 million. These donations were primarily aimed at our Community Affairs key themes of education and entrepreneurship. Contributions were also made to other causes, in particular disaster relief, including a commitment of more than USD 1.2 million in total financial contributions to long-term relief and rebuilding efforts in response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in the United States.

Employee donations
If employees donate money to charity, UBS will match these donations with an equal amount, giving such contributions additional impetus.*

Volunteering
Our employees, through their volunteer efforts, make significant contributions to the communities in which they work. The firm supports their commitment to making a difference by offering volunteers two days' paid leave every year.*

In-kind giving
We also recycle donated items to benefit others. Amongst others, we give business clothes to employment charities, used office furniture to partner organizations, and books and musical instruments to primary schools.

*subject to regional guidelines