American companies have for many years been strong and active in supporting communities and wider society in Ireland. Indeed, many of the more important innovations in corporate social responsibility practice in Ireland have come from US multinationals.
While many businesses in Ireland have been civic minded and generous when it comes to charitable and social causes, US firms have pioneered best practices around maximising the social impact of their contributions. The primary goal of these interventions is to help their beneficiaries, but positive impacts are often felt by organisations’ employees too.
Take pharmaceutical company Lilly, for example.
“Community investment isn’t just something we do; it’s part of who we are,” says Mike Smith, vice-president and general manager at Lilly GBS Cork. “For the past 18 years, we’ve marked this commitment every September with our Global Day of Service, where employees support charities and causes in their communities. We encourage everyone to get involved in ways that are meaningful to them, whether that’s volunteering time, sharing expertise, or contributing resources.
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“Being part of the communities where we live and work has always been important to us, and we take pride in doing our part to make a real, positive impact.”
In January this year, the corporation launched a three-year collaboration with Family Carers Ireland, with a commitment to provide €750,000 to help the charity continue giving vital support to more than 500,000 carers across the State.
“Just as importantly, we’ve also introduced a nationwide employee volunteering programme, giving all Lilly employees in Ireland the chance to contribute their time, energy, and skills,” says Smith. “Since this time last year, our employees have dedicated over 2,000 volunteer hours across 67 activities supporting Family Carers Ireland. More than 300 of our colleagues took part in garden clean-ups alone, and more recently, we were so proud to help bring back the overnight Respite Retreat, giving 80 carers a well-earned break.”
The commitment of firms in this area was highlighted in AmCham’s 2020 report, Beyond Business, which showed that 69 per cent of US companies in Ireland have formal CSR programmes, while 63 per cent have long-term charity partners and 61 per cent support individual employee volunteering. Moreover, US companies gave a 7.5 out of 10 rating in terms of the importance of this area to their overall business strategy.
Bank of America is another major US company with a strong commitment to community and social involvement. It is a big supporter of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI). Over the past six years, it has supported SEI’s Ideas Academy, which helps aspiring change makers refine and advance solutions to social challenges. Over 12 weeks, participants engage in workshops, peer discussions and networking opportunities to sharpen their ideas, validate solutions and build action plans. More recently, the bank has helped SEI to pilot the Investor Readiness Pathway, a tailored support programme to help social enterprises become investor ready.
It is also a big supporter of the Rethink Ireland – Mná na hÉireann (Women of Ireland) Empowerment Fund. In partnership with Rethink Ireland and the Department of Rural and Community Development, Bank of America co-created a $1 million (€860,000), three-year fund (2023–2026) to support organisations advancing women’s economic mobility. This builds on the success of the original Mná na hÉireann Fund (2019–2022), also supported by the bank, which helped women facing multiple disadvantages to access sustainable employment and education pathways.
“These initiatives reflect our long-standing commitment to inclusive growth and social progress in Ireland,” says Andrea Sullivan, international executive and head of the social and environment group at Bank of America. “Investing in communities and supporting social progress is central to our purpose and deeply embedded in our commitment to responsible growth. We recognise the role that we can play in mobilising capital and supporting organisations to scale.”
Sullivan points out that the bank’s employees are equally committed and that volunteering has continued to grow, with its teams logging more than 2.5 million hours in 2024.
“We believe that meaningful change begins with understanding the unique needs, economies, and cultures of the communities we serve. Community investment is a foundational part of how we define sustainable business and long-term impact” she says.
