Ona Carbonell presents the CECA 2019-2020 Social Work and Financial Education Awards

Of the nearly 70 initiatives submitted for this call, 20 were awarded during a telematic ceremony

70% of the investment in Social Work in 2020 was allocated to actions to combat the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic

86% of the investment in Financial Education in 2020 was dedicated to projects carried out through digital channels to facilitate access to these services during the pandemic

The entities associated with CECA and their affiliated foundations have today celebrated the presentation of the CECA Social Work and Financial Education Awards 2019-2020, an annual event aimed at highlighting the work these organizations do to improve the well-being of society and the environment through their activities in the communities where they are present. Ona Carbonell, ambassador of CECA’s Social Work, presented the awards to the 20 initiatives honored, out of nearly 70 that were competing in various categories.

This year, the award ceremony, which has been held since 2012, was conducted for the first time via telematics. The necessary adaptations resulting from the pandemic still reflect a period in which CECA’s Social Work played an essential role as a backbone of society, mitigating the economic and social impact caused by the health crisis.

In the area of Social Work, the prize categories included Social Action, Culture and Heritage, Education and Research, Local Development and Job Creation, Environment, and Sports and Leisure. Regarding Financial Education, the categories included Children and Young People up to 25 years, Adults, Over 65s, and Entrepreneurs.

Additionally, a special award was presented in each area: Special Jury Award for the trajectory of Social Work and Special Jury Award for the promotion of Financial Education. Among the jury members stand out representatives from Funcas, Fundación Lealtad, and El Confidencial.

During the event held today, Ona Carbonell emphasized: “the work of these entities is always significant; however, the context experienced during 2020, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, has highlighted the positive impact of all the initiatives they undertake.”

Social Work

As a result of the firm commitment that has extended for more than a century, the Social Work of the entities associated with CECA led in 2020 private social investment in Spain, allocating 772 million euros to the development of 49,000 activities that benefited a total of 24,688,140 people. In light of the exceptional pandemic situation, the CECA sector allocated 70% of these resources to fighting the pandemic through two of its main areas of Social Work: Social Action and Education and Research.

To address this challenge, entities launched all types of initiatives, diversifying their work to expand the number of beneficiaries as much as possible. In this sense, during 2020, activities carried out by the foundations addressed critical areas for many groups, such as food bank supplies, the expansion of school meal scholarships, the fight against child poverty, research, and the promotion of local development. They also worked on initiatives focused on job creation and support for groups at risk of social exclusion and the elderly.

The CECA entities demonstrated great flexibility and agility and have been able to adapt their resources and structure to the needs of the moment. The results of this adaptation included the digitization of programs and the calling for extraordinary aid, all aimed at increasing the reach of their actions.

Financial Education

In 2020, CECA entities allocated 3.57 million euros to Financial Education, of which 3.025 million belonged to the Funcas Educa Program. The investment was made to carry out 4,145 activities that reached over 25 million beneficiaries.

During the pandemic, entities developed initiatives with innovative formats, adapting their existing actions to the digital environment. In fact, 86% of the total investment was directed toward digital actions, such as app development, websites, video games, virtual workshops, and streaming broadcasts.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the renewal of the “Funcas Program to Stimulate Financial Education,” now in its third edition, has been key to helping during the most critical moments. This innovative program is contributing to fund Financial Education activities developed by entities affiliated with CECA, either directly or through their foundations, promoting existing projects or new ones that address emerging needs.

The awarded initiatives

Social Work Area

• Social Action, First Prize
  o Fundación Unicaja
  o Project: AIOM
• Social Action, Second Prize
  o Afundación
  o Project: Cubertos, childhood protection project
• Culture and Heritage, First Prize
  o Fundación La Caixa
  o Project: Symphony
• Culture and Heritage, Second Prize
  o Fundación Círculo Católico de Burgos
  o Project: Mathematics in the Cathedral of Burgos.
• Education and Research, First Prize
  o Fundación Caja de Burgos
  o Project: La Voz del Patio
• Education and Research, Second Prize
  o Fundación Caja Navarra
  o Project: Prevention program for gambling addiction in young people
• Local Development and Job Creation, First Prize
  o Fundación Ibercaja
  o Project: TicVolución
• Local Development and Job Creation, Second Prize
  o Fundación Caja Extremadura
  o Project: Samara Rural
• Environment, First Prize
  o Fundación La Caja de Canarias
  o Project: Forests from the air.
• Environment, Second Prize
  o Fundación Círculo Católico de Burgos
  o Project: ECOFRIKIS
• Sports and Leisure, First Prize
  o Fundación CajaCanarias
  o Project: CajaCanarias online chess tournaments
• Sports and Leisure, Second Prize
  o Fundación Unicaja
  o Project: Chess League
• Special Jury Award for Social Work (Unique award chosen by the jury among the presented projects)
  o Fundación “La Caixa”
  o Project: No home without food

Financial Education Area

• Children and Young People aged 0 to 25, First Prize
  o Fundación Cajasol
  o Project: The importance of budgeting
• Children and Young People aged 0 to 25, Second Prize
  o CaixaBank
  o Project: Finances for young people
• Adults aged 26 to 65, First Prize
  o Grupo Unicaja, Edufinet Project
  o Project: Training for financial education trainers of the Edufinet project
• Adults aged 26 to 65, Second Prize
  o Fundación Mediterráneo
  o Project: Mediterranean Space for the promotion of new economies
• Seniors, +65, First Prize
  o Fundación Caja Extremadura
  o Project: With you, closer
• Seniors, +65, Second Prize
  o Fundación Cajasol
  o Project: Everyday finances
• Entrepreneurs, First Prize
  o Fundación Caja de Burgos
  o Project: Plan for Entrepreneurs
• Entrepreneurs, Second Prize
  o Fundación Ibercaja
  o Project: Financial education for your business
• Special Jury Award for Financial Education (Unique award chosen by the jury among the presented projects)
  o Abanca/Afundación
  o Project: Program Segura-Mente. Start your journey.