As a major insurer, a.s.r. aims to contribute to solving societal issues. One of the three themes where a.s.r. can make the most impact is financial self-reliance and inclusion. With Doenkracht, a.s.r. seeks to enhance people's financial self-reliance.

The two main themes of the Doenkracht department are financial self-reliance and helping through action. a.s.r.'s helping through action involves actively supporting social organisations and projects through volunteering and financial contributions.

The Doenkracht programme of a.s.r. regarding financial self-reliance consists of:

• An educational offering aimed at preventing financial problems.

• Projects and programmes focused on alleviating (imminent) financial problems.

a.s.r. achieves this with the help of specialised partners and, where possible, in combination with the expertise of its employees as volunteers.

With the Doenkracht programme, a.s.r. combines the activities of Aegon NL's Stap vooruit programme with those of the a.s.r. foundation.

Developments in 2024

The poverty rate in the cities where a.s.r. is located is relatively high. Both Enschede (4.3% of the population is defined as poor), Groningen (5.3%), Heerlen (4.7%), Leeuwarden (4.3%), and Utrecht (4.1%) are in the highest cohort of municipalities with the most poverty in the Netherlands¹.

Prevention

The Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and Impact House have researched how financial education helps prevent financial problems. The goal is to learn how change occurs and to prove in the long term that the approach works. Therefore a.s.r. has, together with three partners, designed a Theory of Change (ToC) to clarify how education leads to behavioural change and to identify the effective elements in the approach.

Alleviation

In the reporting year, four partners in Groningen, Leeuwarden, and Utrecht helped 157 participants alleviate their own financial problems. This part of the Doenkracht programme started on 24 April with the signing of partnership agreements. a.s.r. funds the projects and supports the partners with training and impact coaching. Strengthening the capitals² of participants is important in this context. The effects that a.s.r.'s Doenkracht aims to achieve are encapsulated in its Theory of Change.

Impact in 2024

a.s.r. measures the impact of the Doenkracht programme in various ways to ensure that the initiatives genuinely contribute to financial self-reliance and social engagement.

• Feedback and Evaluations: a.s.r. collects feedback from participants to determine the effectiveness and areas for improvement of programmes.

• Collaboration with Partners: Collaboration with educational and social organisations helps a.s.r. monitor and evaluate the impact, including data collection and impact studies.

• Volunteering: The involvement of a.s.r. employees in volunteering is measured, including the number of hours and the results.

• Educational Material: The use and effectiveness of educational material are evaluated to assess the contribution to the financial education of young people.

By combining these methods, a.s.r. can make adjustments where necessary to enhance its effectiveness.

• ¹Source: CBS (2024)
• ²Capitals include the following: Societal: better supported by society in financial resilience, Social: access to a broader social network for support, Human: more confidence in their basic financial skills, Psychological: more motivation to undertake action, Economical: identifying new work (experience) or starting a course.