Act4Greece: An initiative for the promotion of social and development banking in Greece

act4greece

The National Bank of Greece, in strategic cooperation with organizations and foundations of international standing, initiated the crowdfunding platform act4Greece. The objective of the platform is to enhance projects that are needed by the Greek society. act4Greece is seen as the pioneer programme in Greece for the promotion of social and developmental banking.

Act4Greece mainly hosts projects from Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) and Greek Universities that seek funds through the donation-based crowdfunding model. Seven areas of action are covered by the programme: 1) Welfare, Health and Solidarity, 2) Social Economy and Entrepreneurship, 3) Culture and Cultural Entrepreneurship, 4) Young and Innovative Entrepreneurship, 5) Environment and Sustainability, 6) Research, Education and Training, and 7) Sporting Activities.

All strategic partner institutions contribute to act4Greece by offering their know-how and by participating in the selection process of the projects. At the same time, they aim at leveraging the potential of the platform by broadening and multiplying the resources (monetary and non-monetary) for projects that they already support.

The first successful project of act4Greece was a cultural project. The Art Theatre Karolos Koun managed to gather over € 100,000 for the renovation of this ancient theatre in half of the campaigning time, while act4Greece had only been live for one and a half months. The Onassis Foundation was one of the main supporters of the Art Theatre project while they have a special focus on education, culture, health and social solidarity.