NOC*NSF
GoChina!
the range from top-level sport to community sport. Through the Rabo Talentenplan, talents spotted at
an early stage receive structural and professional coaching. Dressage champion Anky van Grunsven is its
ambassador. For the local Rabobanks, an action package has been developed to stimulate horse-riding
among young people.The annual activities around Indoor Brabant, CHIO Rotterdam and Jumping
Amsterdam focus on the needs of local Rabobanks in the area of relationship marketing.
In order to strengthen its position as the pre-eminent provider of banking services to Dutch athletes,
Rabobank has been an Official Supplier of NOC*NSF since June 2005. With its suppliership, Rabobank
shares its skills and experience in sponsoring, communication, banking and assisting sports unions and
top athletes. On the journey to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Rabobank, as Holland's largest sports
sponsor, developed initiatives to take Dutch sports to a higher level. With its RabobankTopsport desk,
Rabobank is the financial coach of Holland's top athletes. A number of top athletes are offered the
option to work for Rabobank during their active careers.
1% FairShare and museum bus
The 1% FairShare covenant was signed by Rabobank in 2007. Signatory enterprises commit themselves
to spend 1% of their sports sponsorship budgets on sports for the handicapped. Rabobank, whose
sponsorship includes the Special Olympics, has been meeting this commitment for many years. In 2008,
the (S)Cool on Wheels project was included in its support activities.This involves local clinics to raise
school children's awareness of wheelchair exercising and sports activities. As part of their cultural
sponsoring, the local Rabobanks enable school children to make educational school trips, on a converted
American school bus, to the Van Gogh Museum, in Amsterdam. One of the targets of the collaboration
with the Van Gogh Museum is to get more people interested in museums in general. The Gogh Museum
Friday Nights are an additional contributing factor in this effort.
Summer of sports
The Rabobank-sponsored sports again did very well in 2008, culminating in the Beijing Olympics.
Rabobank expressed its engagement in the 'Rabobank Sponsor of Dreams' TV commercial. The Rabobank's
own internet video channel - www.rabosport.nl - showed intensive reports on the Rabobank athletes'
performance. In 2008,2.3 million items were viewed on this site. The climax was the Rabo fans' day, the
Olympic after-party on 30 August 2008 at the Olympic stadium. All top athletes who had won Olympic
medals were honoured on the big podium. Thousands of young clients aged 8-15 were able to meet
their sports heroes. Anky van Grunsven repeated her reining show, children could do a sprint against
cyclist Theo Bos and join hockey clinics with Fatima Moreira de Melo. In addition, there were childrens'
press conferences where their idols answered their questions.
In 2008, Rabobank was the'presenting partner'of the GoChina! manifestation at the Groninger Museum
and the Drents Museum. The objective was to introduce as many people as possible to Chinese culture
and to give an impulse to spending in the northern region. In an eight-month period, nearly half a
million people came to see the five exhibitions about the multi-faceted ancient Chinese culture and
about avant-garde and present-day Chinese art. On the Rabo GoChina Culture Bus, thousands of
primary school children attended a special educational programme that was held in both museums.
As a presenting partner, Rabobank once again demonstrated its culture sponsoring mission:
'Rabobank brings culture nearer to everyone'.
77
Report of the Executive Board
