Our Communities work encompasses our CSR programme and corporate partnerships, supporting vulnerable groups and strengthening local communities through strategic collaboration and purpose-driven initiatives.
Our corporate partnerships create meaningful value for society, our partners, and our business. Through strategic collaboration, we deliver lasting societal impact while generating a sense of purpose for our colleagues and driving reputational, strategic, and commercial benefits.
Our Corporate Partnerships
Together Academy @ SMBC Aviation Capital Initiative
Together Academy and SMBC Aviation Capital have opened a new vocational training college for young adults with Down syndrome at SMBC Aviation Capital’s headquarters. Situated in Dublin 2 at the landmark building, Fitzwilliam 28, this purpose-built training café and vocational facility will enable Together Academy to further broaden its supports to enable young adults with Down syndrome access to meaningful opportunities to participate in the workforce.
In partnership with SMBC Aviation Capital, Together Academy has developed a purpose-built exemplar training college. This space will facilitate a 2-year culinary training programme, a vocational training programme and a training café, supported by the Government through a multi-annual grant from Pobal. The ground floor café is open to SMBC Aviation Capital employees, other tenants of Fitzwilliam 28, clients and invited guests to support the skills development and employment of the Together Academy students and graduates - all young people with Down syndrome.
The Together Academy training café and training kitchen is where the students will put their theory into practice and develop vital skills to prepare them for employment. They will rotate between different roles in the training café such as front of house, barista, waiting staff and also practice culinary skills in the lower ground floor training kitchen. Read more about our partnership here.
Together, we are changing the way corporate Ireland sees inclusion and embraces people who learn differently to ensure that everyone gets a chance to achieve their potential.
The National Gallery of Ireland Nationwide Schools Programme
SMBC Aviation Capital is proud to sponsor the National Gallery of Ireland's Nationwide Schools Programme. This initiative sustains and expands sector-leading education programmes, breaking down barriers to accessing the arts and creating best practice development across the sector. It provides opportunities for children and young people of all abilities and circumstances to engage with the National Gallery throughout their school journey and beyond.
Across Ireland and in our local communities, we ensure children are equipped from an early stage to access the benefits of arts and culture—an important wellbeing resource they can return to throughout their lives.
The National Gallery of Ireland has created a dedicated, sustainable, museum-leading Schools Programme that supports children nationally and locally throughout their entire school life through three key initiatives:
- Your Gallery At School – A national outreach programme for primary, post-primary, and special schools.
- My Primary School is at the Gallery – An immersive onsite residency programme for inner-city primary schools.
- Gallery Transition Year Programme – Onsite and virtual creative careers programmes for post-primary Transition Year students.
- SMBC Aviation Capital Schools Fellowship – A fellow appointed to develop projects under the Schools Partner Programme.
Business to Arts
SMBC Aviation Capital is proud to partner with Business to Arts, an organisation connecting the corporate and cultural sectors in Ireland. For over thirty years, Business to Arts has championed meaningful partnerships that support the growth and sustainability of Ireland's arts community while creating valuable opportunities for businesses to engage with creativity and cultural innovation. Through this partnership, we demonstrate our commitment to supporting the arts in Ireland and contributing to the vibrant cultural landscape that enriches our communities.
Business to Arts' expertise in fostering purposeful connections between business and the arts aligns with our values of building lasting relationships and making a positive impact beyond our core business activities.
Key Facts
As of 01/01/2026
2025
4,108
Volunteering Hours
2024
3,800
Volunteering Hours
School Children
1000+
Impacted by our Difference Days
Debra Kerry Challenge
28km
Walked by staff in 2025
Global Volunteer Initiative
13
Group Trips
2023
2,655
Volunteering Hours
Our CSR programme focuses on three key areas: supporting children and education, advancing equality and inclusion, and empowering disadvantaged communities. We're proud to work with the following partners who share our commitment to making a positive impact.
Our CRS Partners
Acquired Brain Injury Ireland
Acquired Brain Injury Ireland support individuals and their families recovering from the impacts of brain injury by offering services and tools that help them rehabilitate, adapt and live their fullest lives with confidence.
Airlink
Airlink provide free airlift and logistical solutions to vetted non-profit partners, changing the way the humanitarian community responds to disasters around the world.
Anam Cara
Anam Cara supports parents after bereavement by offering information, resources, practical advice, links to professional organisations and services, general information for parents and extended families.
Belvedere Youth Club (BYC)
BYC supports children and young people in Dublin's North East Inner City to reach their full potential through drop-in services, after-school programmes, educational supports, recreational activities, and daily hot meals for 70-90 children and teenagers.
Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic
The Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic was opened in 2004 to provide primary care medical services to the people of Chembe and Cape Maclear in Malawi in Central Africa. Today The Billy Clinic remains the only medical care available in the area.
Debra Ireland
DEBRA Ireland supports people living with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) or "butterfly skin" - a rare condition causing extremely fragile skin. They provide care, lead research, and advocate for those affected while working toward a cure.
Do Slumthing
Do Slumthing is a charity running schools in three slum locations in Jaipur, India, educating and feeding around 200 children. They provide education, training, and support to help impoverished communities become self-sufficient.
Kinia
Kinia is an Irish charity tackling educational inequality by providing technology skills and learning opportunities to children from disadvantaged backgrounds through programmes in creative technology, digital skills, literacy, and numeracy.
LauraLynn
LauraLynn is a children's hospice providing palliative care and support to children with life-limiting conditions and their families through symptom management, short breaks, end-of-life care, music therapy, and bereavement support nationwide.
Open Arms Malawi
Open Arms Malawi provides care for orphaned and abandoned babies, then supports their return to families with outreach services, medical support, and food assistance.
Pratyek India
Pratyek empowers children across India through Children's Parliaments to build a rights-based, inclusive, sustainable community through child-led advocacy for education and health funding.
Ronald McDonald House
Provide accommodation and a caring, supportive environment for families whose children are undergoing medical treatment at CHI at Crumlin.
Difference Days: Making a Real Impact
Difference Days creates unique team-building experiences that allow companies to give back to their communities while strengthening workplace relationships. Rather than traditional corporate events, they organize socially responsible projects where company teams transform spaces that need it most—with professional guidance and materials provided.
Since 2009, Difference Days has managed over 100 projects throughout Ireland, partnering with companies to make tangible differences in communities. At SMBC Aviation Capital, we've been proud partners in their mission to "leave no Ballymun school behind." We've completed five transformation projects in the Ballymun area: Virgin Mary Boys and Girls Schools (2022), St Joseph's Junior and Senior National Schools (2023), and Trinity Comprehensive (2024). Through our partnership and others with Difference Days, 13 projects have now been completed in Ballymun.
Most recently, we partnered with Difference Days to transform Dolphin House, a 70-year-old local authority housing estate in Dublin's south inner city that had been promised regeneration for over 20 years. 300 volunteers from SMBC Aviation Capital laid lawns, planted gardens, built raised beds and allotments, beautifully tarmacked pathways throughout the estate, built and arranged musical instruments everywhere, erected a greenhouse, and laid a purpose-built all-weather astroturf football pitch for the kids.