One hundred and twenty.
That’s how many Beckman Coulter employees arrived at Benjamin Beswick Elementary School on a sunny day in February, eager to get to work. The plan: to freshen up and revive the aging Tustin campus.
The students were excited by the arrival of the throngs of volunteers from the Brea-based medical device maker, welcoming them with a rally as “Eye of the Tiger” played in the background. The volunteers were divided into groups, each with a different assignment.
Just over five hours later, the campus playground was transformed, the blacktop now dominated by a large, colorful U.S. map the volunteers had painted. Agility courses and blacktop games were freshly painted, and a large, eye-catching keyboard had been added. Inspirational quotes adorned the school, while painted bobcat paws, in honor of its mascot, traced a path around the grounds.
The playground wasn’t the only area of the school to be given a fresh facade. While some of the volunteers had been brightening the campus with paint, others cleaned and refurbished the teachers outdoor lounge.
Beckman Coulter employees’ time—600 hours, all told—would have cost more than $16,000 on the clock if it hadn’t been for their volunteer spirit. But of course, such things aren’t measured in dollars, but in how the volunteers feel to have contributed to their community’s quality of life.
Caring About the ‘Why’
For the better of a decade, Beckman Coulter has actively sought and encouraged associates’ participation in charitable work through the Beckman Coulter Foundation, which serves as the firm’s philanthropic arm. Employees are encouraged to participate in events in the communities where they live and work, and the foundation matches the money they raise for up to $100 per employee, per event.
For companies like it, the move is a smart strategy, says Dan McQuaid, president and chief executive of OneOC, a Santa Ana-based nonprofit organization that provides volunteer, training, consulting and business services for other nonprofits while operating the Center for Business & Community Partnerships.
“For years, large companies took a confetti approach to their philanthropic outreach,” he says. “They wrote checks to organizations because it was good to do. Now companies are much more strategic. They recognize that they have employees with skills who can be engaged through volunteering and therefore bring their knowledge and resources to different nonprofit initiatives that align with their own.”
Beckman Coulter, for example, supports nonprofits whose visions reflect its own: science, science education and healthcare-related research that improves patient health and the quality of life.
Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. has a similar approach. It’s a founding sponsor of two prominent longtime fundraising events in Orange County, the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and the AIDS Walk Orange County. Through its Pacific Life Good Guys program, which supports health-related nonprofits in OC, greater Omaha, Neb., and greater Lynchburg, Va., employees have donated 10,200 volunteer hours and taken part in 197 events, according to the company.
“Employees take pride in working for a company that not only gives back, but mirrors their values,” says Pacific Life Foundation President Tennyson Oiler. “For us, philanthropy is more than just making a donation. It’s about living our values.”
Charles Antis, president and founder of Irvine-based Antis Roofing & Waterproofing, echoes the sentiment. “The most important discovery I have made is that people care about the why,” he says. “With us, philanthropy involves the whole team. We sit down, we talk about it. We support causes that are close to our employees’ hearts.”
Last year alone, the company donated more than $145,000 through cash and in-kind donations to over 20 nonprofit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, Alzheimer’s Orange County, Orange County Ronald McDonald House, Boys & Girls Club, Boy Scouts of America, Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation and Families Forward.
Each year, Antis donates 10 large-scale maintenance projects and 100 leak repairs for families enduring hardship, and honors all employee requests for pro-bono work to aid a family in need, the company says. It’s provided every roof installation for every Habitat for Humanity home in OC for the past eight years.
“None of this would be remotely possible without our employees,” Antis says. “They do this because it matters to them.”
Boon to Bottom Line
Giving can also benefit a company’s bottom line. Antis says he’s surprised by how much his business has grown revenuewise in the past two years or so since it became a more visible player in the philanthropic community.
“The more we give away, the more we get back. We’re on track to have our biggest year ever.”
Antis says his employee retention rate has grown to 93% in the past year. “In this industry, there is a lot of turnover. Not at Antis. People stay. They look forward to work because it’s about more than just making money.”
Research illustrates the connection between companies that give back and happy employees. Corporate training firm Dale Carnegie Training partnered with MSW Research to dig deeper into the factors that create engaged employees. The 1,500-person nationwide survey discovered that one of the top three drivers of employee engagement is the pride of working for a company that gives back to the community—54% cited that as the reason they stay with a company. The study indicates that it gives them a sense of purpose.
The Millennial Question
For the millennial generation, a sense of purpose is especially important.
“New graduates definitely take this into consideration when choosing what company to work for,” says J. Mark Maier, associate professor of leadership in the College of Educational Studies at Chapman University. “It is part of their value system. It’s who they are. And they expect companies to provide opportunities to continue this in their careers.”
He points to the annual College Senior Survey, a national poll by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles. Results show 83.5% of Chapman’s 2015 graduating class cited “helping others who are in difficulty” as an “essential or very important” personal goal. Seventy-six percent performed volunteer work while in college, and 59% planned to engage in volunteerism after graduating.
A 2015 Deloitte millennials survey shows that “a sense of purpose” is part of the reason they choose to work for their current employers. Corporate volunteerism provides ways for employees to utilize the skills they’ve gained through their careers to make a difference in others’ lives.
The American Charities Snapshot 2017 also bears that out, showing that 58% of millennials want to work for a company that supports giving and volunteering.
Essential Need
Community outreach and philanthropy can take many forms, from refurbishing schools to sponsoring community walks to building roofs. And it’s not limited to large companies. Small and medium-sized companies are actively pursuing philanthropy that goes beyond “writing a check” by involving employees in their community outreach efforts.
From repainting a neglected playground to donating a brand-new roof to sponsoring a health walk, employees are taking a more prominent and active role than ever in helping make life better in the communities they serve.
“People want to work here because they value what we do,” says Antis. “They value being part of something bigger, something with purpose.”
