Community

The starting point for these partnerships is an intensive selection process during which we get to know our potential partners and jointly develop concepts for long-term cooperation. We expect our partnering organisations to thoroughly plan the impact of their activities and to assess whether the projected impact actually occurs. Throughout each partnership, we do not only cover project costs but also provide funds for the further development and management of the partnering organisation.

In addition to money donations, we also use other resources available to our company and increasingly combine different types of support. For example, the knowledge and experience of our employees can be a valuable resource for our partners. Sales campaigns help increase public awareness and generate additional funds. 

One example of this approach is our cooperation with the non-profit organisation Feeding America in the US. Feeding America is an umbrella organisation of regional and local food banks which receive product donations from ALDI and other retailers and distribute them to those in need. Next to donating over 20 million pounds of food annually, ALDI US also supports Feeding America with money donations to cover organisation costs. In 2017, for the first time ever, we also encouraged our employees and customers in the US to make donations for those affected by the Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. As a result, ALDI US and our employees collectively donated over USD 275,000 (EUR 243,432). Within a matter of days, our customers also showed their generosity by donating USD 400,000 (EUR 354,082) to Feeding America to help those impacted by the hurricanes.

In other countries, we also focus on maintaining long-term partnerships: in Australia, we have been supporting Barnardos Australia, one of the country’s leading child protection charities, for many years. This year, we celebrate 15 years of support in the form of monetary donations, sales campaigns, and more recently, by becoming the principal supporter of the annual Barnados 'Mother of the Year' award. In the UK, ALDI UK/Ireland and many of its employees provide various forms of support to the Teenage Cancer Trust, which offers special facilities and services for teenagers suffering from cancer. With these forms of long-term cooperation, we aim to make the best use of our resources for the benefit of societal causes beyond our core business. 

Since 2006, ALDI SOUTH Germany has provided over EUR 60 million in funding in order to support the charitable organisation Auridis gGmbH, which also belongs to the ALDI SOUTH Group. Above all, Auridis uses these funds to provide effective services for socially disadvantaged families throughout Germany. In addition to this, we maintain funding partnerships with charitable organisations, such as the 'GemüseAckerdemie', which implements innovative approaches to promoting healthy nutrition and sustainable consumption.

In Austria, HOFER dedicated its efforts in 2017 to the area of farming and agriculture and to supporting social integration within the agricultural industry. This included regional projects by HOFER aimed at providing socially disadvantaged young adults with job prospects in agriculture, as well as the 'HOFsuchtBAUER' ('Farm seeks Farmer') platform, which helps to connect farmers with potential young successors for running their farms. In Hungary, ALDI works with its long-term strategic partner 'Bátor Tábor', a foundation which supports children suffering from severe or incurable illnesses and their families. In Slovenia, HOFER provides monthly donations to the sponsorship project 'Botrstvo', which is dedicated to supporting socially disadvantaged children, while in Switzerland, ALDI SUISSE cooperates with UNICEF Switzerland within the scope of a multi-year funding campaign called 'IMAGINE', which benefits children in Malawi and across Switzerland.

Money donations: monetary donations made to charities or other social organisations for the promotion of non-material causes without the expectation of any form of consideration in return