On Monday, twelve companies and 15 non-profit organizations gathered in the “golden hall” of Haus Altenberg. Their common goal: to do “good business” – without any money. During the one-hour negotiation phase, the topic of money was strictly taboo.

The “Good Business” campaign, originally launched by the Bertelsmann Foundation, is an initiative that brings companies and charitable organizations together on so-called “marketplaces” to promote cooperation. Instead of money, commitment flows here in the form of contributions in kind, know-how, manpower and working hours. This is called “networking”.

Michael Becker, Deputy District Administrator, was there for the second time and emphasized: “Networks are particularly important these days. For exchange and mutual support.”

A major supporter of the event, which is organized by Tanja Siebert and Christian Gollmer, is the Dr. Jürgen Rembold Foundation from Rösrath, whose purpose is to promote civic engagement.  Rembold shared from his own experience how valuable a good network can be: “Tanja Siebert has been an active member of our board for some time now”.

This is often worth more than money.

The foundation has awarded a prize in recognition of particularly successful collaborations. The “flotte Kiste” association, supported by Katrin Füchsel from Rigana, the Overath reading promotion organization, accompanied by Maja Supe-Dienes from Dienes Werke, and the “Café Leichtsinn” with her partner Maria Wolff from the “phantasiali” tailoring shop were each awarded 200 euros. They signed the mutual support agreement last year.

Two small and very specific examples from this year’s marketplace: The Christian Association of Young People (CVJM) was looking for space to dry tents. “It’s hard to do that in the garden, there’s not much space and we need dry weather. it would be much easier in a hall,” Sophie and Philipp reported. In return, they offered staff support for an event. Or “Die Kette” e.V., which offers training on mental illness and is looking for better networking opportunities and old electrical appliances.

During the one-hour phase, which took place in the style of speed dating, there was a lot of hustle and bustle. Management consultant Christian Gollmer had suggested beforehand: “Please don’t block your conversation partner for too long, others may also want to talk to them.” Finally, the agreements were recorded in writing. This contains the exact project dates and times, the number of employees involved, the estimated working hours and the expenditure for value and material resources.

At the bottom is the signature, as in a legally valid contract. The “notary” checks the agreements and signs them. It is important that everyone agrees that the provision of a service is not dependent on the provision of a service in return.

Tanja Siebert from the non-profit and globally operating AMAIDI International gGmbH suggests following the results on the website or on Instagram.

She is also pleased that, in addition to the Rembold Foundation, the Kreissparkasse Köln, the Rheinisch-Bergische Kreis, the municipality of Odenthal and Haus Altenberg are also supporting the campaign.

Everyone is talking about digitization – a key driver is the Corona pandemic. It is accelerating digital transformation in all areas, including community and volunteer engagement. Smaller initiatives and companies in particular face the challenge of not losing touch. This is where the new digital platform of the “Marktplatz Gute Geschäfte RBK” can and wants to counteract. The format, which has already been successfully practiced in many cities, brings companies and nonprofit organizations together and initiates cooperation at eye level.

To great acclaim, the first physical “Marktplatz Gute Geschäfte” took place in Rösrath in summer 2019 with around 17 nonprofit organizations and 13 companies from the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis. 35 engagement agreements with a total engagement value of around 56,000 euros were made. The event should therefore go into the next round as early as 2020. But in the Corona year, the inventors of the RBK marketplace also had to take a step back from the face-to-face event and come up with something new: The initiators Tanja Siebert and Christian Gollmer saw the crisis as an opportunity and put the idea of a virtual marketplace into practice.

The digital platform now offers all stakeholders the opportunity to network with each other and make commitment agreements, regardless of location and time. “Here, completely new forms of engagement become possible, companies and non-profit organizations can increase their visibility and support each other with the help of the platform,” says Tanja Siebert and invites regional actors to get involved in a targeted way at www.gute-geschaefte-rbk.de. The Kinderschutzbund Rösrath e.V., the MiKubU initiative (migrant children get support) from Bergisch Gladbach and others are already active on the platform.

The Rösrath Dr. Jürgen Rembold Foundation, the main sponsor of the “Marktplatz Gute Geschäfte,” also welcomes the move into the digital world. “With the virtual marketplace, the initiators have built a modern, contemporary bridge between companies and civil society,” emphasizes Dr. Jürgen Rembold, who hopes that ideas like this will anchor civic engagement as a permanent fixture in corporate cultures in the long term. “Because of the potential, my foundation will accompany both marketplace formats as a main sponsor.”

In addition to the digital platform, an annual face-to-face event is also planned. The next physical “Marktplatz Gute Geschäfte” will already take place this year on June 02 at the Kreishandwerkerschaft in Bergisch Gladbach. Patron remains district administrator Stephan Santelmann. The meeting is promoted apart from the Dr. Rembold donation as main sponsors also by the circle savings bank Cologne, the circle handicraft association and the Rhine Bergische circle support the project.

Interested parties can register at https://www.gute-geschaefte-rbk.de or become active in the virtual marketplace.

Read more in “Review: Week of Civic Involvement 2019” on page 24.