For the Common Good: Sponsorship
Together with the local community, we promote the well-being and vitality of our area.
Responsibility collaboration and sponsorshipA cooperative is a company owned by its members. The Council of Representatives is elected from among the co-op members. The Council, made up of local members, is the voice of the members, and genuinely manages local affairs. As a cooperative owned by households in North Karelia, we are well-known, and people turn to us for support for a wide range of purposes. We are happy to support the vitality of our region. This year as well, we are directing hundreds of thousands of euros from our operating result to support youth employment, as well as sports, culture and various non-profit organisations. Every actor and project is valuable. Our corporate social responsibility work focuses on children and young peopleAs we receive hundreds of times more support requests than we can accommodate, we have defined a clear support policy to ensure fairness. As a result, many excellent applications unfortunately fall outside the scope of our support. For example, individual events, raffle prizes, study trips, website renewals, various publications and similar one-off initiatives – while important and worthwhile – fall outside the scope of our support. Due to high demand, anniversary publications by choirs, associations and clubs are generally excluded from our support.Applications are reviewed on the 15th day of the month following submission.We collaborate with primary schools by awarding a Fair Friend grant to each of the more than 60 schools in our region. Each year, in collaboration with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, we distribute an information package to every first-grader. In addition, we have created Ässäkenttä local sports facilities in connection with primary schools.We work extensively with lower secondary schools, upper secondary schools and vocational schools through internships included in studies. In addition, we employ well over 700 young people in the summer for various training programmes and summer job assignments.For higher education students, we also offer a large number of internships and jobs. We want to support the everyday life of pupils and students in different educational institutions. The above-mentioned forms of collaboration are our way of supporting schools. Due to high demand, we generally do not offer donations for raffles.
Non-profit activitiesPKO also provides broad support for the local activities of various non-profit organisations, such as the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL) and the Finnish Red Cross (SPR).Our support covers nationally significant cultural and recreational activities within our region, as well as initiatives related to education and regional development.Event supportPKO may support events of national importance if:
- The initiative aligns with PKO’s values and public image
- The supported activities are legal, broadly accepted and long-term in nature
- The support contributes, among other aspects, to the vitality and attractiveness of the region
- The principle of reciprocity is fulfilled
How to apply for support
Sponsorship application
All applications are processed on a case-by-case basis. Applications are reviewed on the 15th day of the month following submission.Overall sponsorship
PKO may participate in student overall sponsorship through one advertisement per student organisation. Sponsorship decisions are always made on a case-by-case basis.
Responsible PKO
Responsibility and the Tekosysteemi
At PKO, responsibility means both small and large everyday actions for the benefit of our customers, our region, and the environment.The well-being of our local area, its people, and nature is at the heart of the cooperative model.Even small responsible actions can have a big impact when combined.We call this the Tekosysteemi – our ecosystem of meaningful actions.Work from North Karelia
Promoting Finnish products – especially those from North Karelia – is close to our heart. You can recognize local products by the ‘Work from North Karelia’ (Työtä Pohjois-Karjalasta) label on the shelf edge.
