Vision & mission
VISION
Why
Strong communities and charities contribute to a better world, playing an important role in creating a healthier, fairer, greener world.
MISSION
How
By running our lotteries, we raise long-term funding for our local and international charity partners and increase awareness of their work.
STRATEGY
What
Our fun lotteries are a unique way of community fundraising. Neighbours win together and communities locally and globally benefit from charity funding.
Our funding philosophy
How we contribute to our mission
For over 35 years, the Postcode Lotteries have been supporting thousands of social organisations, locally and internationally. These organisations, widely supported in society, contribute to a green, fair, and healthy world. We are proud that, thanks to our players, we can provide this support together.
Before providing financial donations and entering multi-year partnerships, the Lotteries carefully assess organisations based on criteria such as societal support, national reach, financial diversity, self-fundraising efforts, good governance with internal checks and balances, and professionalism.
Once due diligence is successfully completed, we enter multi-year partnerships. Yearly evaluations are conducted and comprehensive reassessments after several years also take place, with a new multi-year agreement proceeding once due diligence has been successfully repeated.
A key aspect of a partnership is seizing opportunities together while also preventing any difficulties. We expect our charity partners to keep us informed, not only about positive developments but also about challenges and unexpected events. It is crucial that charities brief us promptly and comprehensively, as is customary in any successful partnership.
Read the vision paper Our Funding Philosophy.
We manage delicate situations which may occur during the partnership carefully, recognizing that, just as in the business world, government, and everywhere people work, issues may arise with charity organisations, particularly those operating in challenging contexts involving complex political dynamics or vulnerable populations.
Procedures to prevent and address problems effectively, taking the needs of all stakeholders into account, should be in place. In challenging times, it is vital to review the effectiveness of these procedures after they have been implemented. It is also vital that the teams working for our charity partners, including their boards and supervisory boards, manage such situations effectively and take measures to learn, improve, and whenever possible, prevent any recurrence.
We provide long-term and unrestricted funding to organisations, allowing our charity partners the freedom to use these funds where they consider they will be most effective. This long-term funding, which sees supported charities receiving funds year on year, enables charities to plan strategically, invest in their staff and infrastructure, and meet their charitable objectives.
There is a growing body of academic research demonstrating that multiyear unrestricted funding:
makes social initiatives financially stronger, because the funds serve as a catalyst to secure other sources of financial support
allows nonprofits the time to develop, evaluate, and improve programmes which address systemic and complex social issues
enables grantees to re-allocate money in response to changing needs
encourages innovation
supports investment in research and development.
Our 4 core values
Courageous
With a pioneering mindset, we aim to operate beyond established frameworks. With unrestricted funding, we empower NGOs for entrepreneurship.
Fun
Our players enjoy our games and win great prizes. We also take pleasure in our work and ensure that our offices are enjoyable places to be
Sharing
Players win prizes alongside their neighbors, and charities also benefit by receiving vital funding. As a team, we share our knowledge and skills.
Sustainable
We support global sustainability. We strive to make sustainable choices wherever we can, through our actions and lottery operations.
Good Operations
As a social enterprise in heart and soul, we also aim to run our own operations as sustainably and inclusively as possible. Our Good Operations (GO) agenda directs our efforts towards achieving this goal.
Although there is an international GO team, led by the Director of international affairs and made up of representatives from each country, the local managing directors set their own GO targets, in close cooperation with Novamedia/Postcode Lottery Group. The GO agenda is applied within the framework of each lottery’s operations and is specific to each country.
The Good Operations agenda
Based on our vision, mission and core values and developed with our stakeholders, the GO agenda focuses on five ambitions:
Being a great place for people to work and meet
Maximising the positive impact of our funds
Engaging in customer-focused campaigning
Achieving leadership in responsible value chains
Operating with integrity
Reducing CO2 emissions
We want our lotteries to operate climate-neutrally, and we cut CO2 emissions wherever we can. In the Netherlands, we fully offset emissions we are unable to prevent (despite our best efforts) by planting trees.
Offices in Sweden and the Netherlands only use FSC paper. The People’s Postcode Lottery office runs on 100% renewable electricity. Deutsche Postcode Lotterie and Nationale Postcode Loterij both provide free public transport for employees.
Inclusiveness
We want our organisation to be inclusive, not only towards team members but also towards customers and suppliers. Everyone is welcome regardless of nationality, background, age, religion or sexual orientation. We want our employees to feel free to be themselves in an atmosphere of openness, equality and respect.
We aim for gender balance in our workforce and our senior management teams and equal pay for men and women. In 2023 our Executive Board consists of two women and one man.
How we live our mission
People
Resilient societies and people form the basis for further development and growth.
Planet
Only by conserving and protecting the earth’s resources and ecosystems can we ensure a sustainable and fair use of our natural resources.
Openness
We organise our Postcode Lotteries in a responsible way and communicate openly, providing stakeholders with an unbiased picture of our performance and impact.