As financial institutions and the private sector across Armenia reassess their corporate social responsibility strategies, IDBank has emerged as a case study in systematic community engagement. Regional Post interviewed IDBank’s Head of Communications and Social Responsibility Programs Department, Tatevik Vardevanyan, on the bank’s new comprehensive CSR policy.
Text : Margarit Mirzoyan
Photo : IDBank
From Initiative to Institution
When “The Power of One Dram” initiative quietly launched in June 2020, no one could have predicted the profound impact it would have on how financial institutions engage with their communities. Today, with more than 237 million Armenian Drams raised and counting—a figure that changes by the second as customers make payments—the initiative represents far more than successful fundraising.
As Tatevik Vardevanyan, Head of Communications and Social Responsibility Programs Department at IDBank, explains, it created “a new culture of charity in our society, becoming the best example of uniting around one idea and combining forces that make the impossible possible.”
The numbers tell a compelling story. Over nearly five years, “The Power of One Dram” has financed more than 50 projects of strategic importance across Armenia. The concept is elegantly simple: for every payment made through the platforms of Idram and IDBank, one Armenian Dram automatically flows to charitable projects, with customers becoming “goodwill ambassadors” without spending a single additional dram.
This success story prompted a fundamental question—if one innovative program could generate such an impact, what could a systematic approach accomplish?
The Science of Strategic Giving
In 2024, IDBank launched an ambitious initiative to answer that question. Rather than relying on intuition or following industry trends, the bank conducted comprehensive stakeholder research to understand genuine community needs.
The methodology was thorough. Internal stakeholders, including high and middle management across departments, were asked which of Armenia’s current problems the bank should address based on its capacity and expertise. The same questions went to external stakeholders, namely partners, individual clients, and legal entities with deep connections to the bank. “This way we tried to identify the societal expectations from our company,” explains Mrs. Vardevanyan. The results were quite interesting.
Take education, for instance. While everyone acknowledges Armenia’s challenges in education, stakeholders indicated this wasn’t within IDBank’s primary scope. However, financial and digital literacy generated enormous expectations. “There are many expectations from us that we will put a lot of effort into this field, considering our activities within the area throughout the previous years,” Mrs. Vardevanyan notes.
Inclusivity emerged as another major priority, particularly regarding people with limited physical abilities—both in employment opportunities and service accessibility. SME development also ranked high among stakeholder priorities.
Eventually, based on stakeholder feedback, IDBank identified six key priority areas, ranked by community need and institutional capacity: financial literacy, digital literacy, regional development, environment, inclusivity, and SME development.
The identified priorities are already generating concrete programs that reflect this new methodology. The bank is developing serious financial literacy courses and has created Koreez, a gamified financial literacy program for children. Through monthly prizes and engaging gameplay, Koreez teaches kids basic financial concepts while helping them recognize and avoid scams.
The bank’s teams regularly visit camps and schools, delivering financial literacy education through interesting examples and visuals for both children and adults. This direct engagement serves multiple purposes: it provides essential education while creating personal connections between bank staff and beneficiaries, embodying the policy’s emphasis on meaningful community interaction.
Beyond Compliance
This in-depth research resulted in a comprehensive CSR policy, currently awaiting final approval. Unlike many corporate responsibility initiatives that function as add-ons to core business, IDBank’s approach integrates CSR as “an element of strategic management, a tool for corporate management improvement and risk management,” in Mrs. Vardevanyan’s words.
The policy framework draws from international standards, incorporating UN Global Agreement principles and World Accountability Initiative standards alongside Armenian law and internal priorities. This is not just corporate box-checking—it’s systematic community engagement with clear accountability measures.
The framework provides clear criteria for decision-making, ensuring that every initiative aligns with both community needs and institutional capabilities. This systematic approach represents a fundamental shift from reactive charitable giving to proactive strategic community partnership.
IDBank’s CSR evolution reflects broader changes in corporate responsibility expectations. As Mrs. Vardevanyan explains, the policy explicitly states that CSR “derives from the company’s main strategic purposes and serves to their fulfillment,” rather than functioning as a complementary process.
This integration spans multiple areas that were part of the bank’s earlier CSR work: health, environmental protection, education, and protection, including the health and education of soldiers. The new framework maintains these commitments while adding systematic methodology and stakeholder accountability.
Environmental protection remains a priority, alongside all other directions, with activities “initiated in all these directions, which will have their impact in a long-term perspective both on banks’ internal infrastructures and work culture, and on our collaboration with external beneficiaries,” says Mrs. Vardevanyan.
The bank has fostered specific principles throughout this transformation, including compliance with ethical norms and anti-corruption policies. These principles provide the framework for project selection and ensure alignment with both international standards and local needs.
Putting Principles into Practice
With the policy framework in place, IDBank began implementing tangible changes across its CSR operations. The bank has re-established clear criteria for project selection and considers transitioning to an online application system for organizations seeking support. While comprehensive information gathering, compliance review, and media analysis were always part of the bank’s evaluation process, the new framework systematizes these procedures and promises more manageable application flows. This transition to a more structured methodology brings enhanced accountability and transparency to the selection process.
Another significant shift in IDBank’s approach involves supporting beneficiaries directly rather than only through foundations. This adds accountability while providing bank staff with an emotional connection to their work. “The team experiences emotions, interacts with the real people behind the numbers and tackles problems,” Mrs. Vardevanyan explains. “This direct connection guides them and allows them to have a better understanding of the challenges they’re addressing.”
Importantly, the bank leadership approaches this as a “work in progress.” The process remains flexible, recognizing that effective community partnership requires continuous adaptation and refinement.
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