TheSite.org
The bank's information helps the charity to offer financial advice
"Can banks be good citizens?", Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond asked himself during the inaugural Today Business Lecture in 2011. His answer, unsurprisingly, was yes. But he was prepared, he said, for incredulity.
One strand of Barclays' move towards good citizenship is a money management programme aimed at developing financial skills and knowledge among young people. The programme, which was launched in 2010, has a plethora of charity partners including Action for Children, the National Youth Agency and Citizens Advice.
The latest manifestation of the programme is a partnership with YouthNet, which provides online information and advice to young people aged 16 to 25. Barclays is sponsoring the money section of the charity's online guide, TheSite.org.
Barclays also provides information on finance, which is used to develop content by YouthNet journalists. Financial information developed for TheSite.org will then by syndicated back to Barclays' own recently launched Money Skills website.
"It's particularly important for us to have a relationship with YouthNet because we know it engages that target audience very effectively," says Michelle Smith, head of community affairs for Barclays UK.
Emma Thomas, chief executive of YouthNet, says Barclays has "respect and appreciation for our ability to write in a way that empowers young people and engages them".
She says: "We have benefited from really strong corporate relationships over the years. And Barclays is one of our strongest."
