A snapshot of the Old Mutual Foundation

The Old Mutual Foundation is the custodian of Old Mutual's corporate social investment strategy. It was set up in 2001 to centralise the various activities that had previously been entrusted to business units, without obstructing corporate social investment initiatives that may have been sponsored by those business units.

The Foundation's efforts and strategies have won it several commendations including the Mail and Guardian Newspaper's "Investing in the Future Awards" where the Rural Economic Development Initiative and the Staff Volunteerism components received particular praise.

Last year was the final year of the Foundation's initial three-year medium-term strategy since it was established. During that period the Foundation focused on four flagship projects, summarised below, investing an average R20 million a year directly into South African communities. This three-year approach has again been adopted beginning in 2005 and the same focus areas retained. Two new initiatives are however, being researched and tested.

In summary, the Foundation's investment into society in 2004 was as follows: