Since 2012, The Civic 50, an initiative of Points of Light, has recognized the 50 most community-minded major corporations in the nation each year as determined by a survey developed by True Impact. For the first time in a local market, the Orange County Business Journal presents the 2017 Civic 50 Orange County in partnership with OneOC, recognizing the 50 most community-minded small, medium, and large Orange County companies.
Mounting research proves why community-minded companies are doing well by doing good. Socially responsible companies have a measurable business lift in consumer preferences, company reputation, and employee attraction and retention. Community engagement isn’t now just for large companies; small and medium-size companies also feel increased expectations to be more strategic in their philanthropy and to empower employees to give time, talent and money. And millennials are now dominating the new workforce with high expectations of employers.
Find a company that’s got higher-than-average employee retention and scores well in those “Best Places to Work” surveys, and chances are you’ll find a company where local philanthropy and community-service programs are not only in place, but a well-known component of the culture. We surely found that to be true in our inaugural survey. We think you’ll be impressed with the extent of civic engagement in our OC community, the creativity—almost always with the ground-up engagement—and the number of resources committed.
The Civic 50 honorees excelled at integrating their community programs into key business functions, such as employee engagement, recruitment, marketing and public relations. For example, Irvine’s Edwards Lifesciences’ Talent Development Program, which recruits college-age interns and recent college graduates for entry-level jobs, includes volunteerism as a key part of the orientation process, helping them see the values of Edwards as a company while strengthening the community and offering a team-building opportunity. It’s just one way Civic 50 honorees showed that companies can “do well by doing good.”
Civic 50 Orange County assessed what and how local companies performed on an independently administered and scored online survey that measured four dimensions of community engagement: Investment—how extensively and strategically the company applies resources, including employee time and skills, cash, in-kind giving and public leadership; Integration—how a company’s programs support business interests and integrate into business functions; Institutionalization—how the company supports community engagement through policies and incentives; and Impact—how the company measures social and business outputs and outcomes.
Not all local companies have the same level of resources or engagement in all of the activities the survey measures. Therefore, scoring and awards were based on the number of local employees: small 15-99; midsize 100-499; and large 500 and up, and similarly sized companies were measured within their peer groups and compared only on community engagement programs in Orange County.
The story that accompanies The List of this year’s 50 honorees details some of the metrics used to measure the companies. What follows are stories of those companies and their employees engaging in our community. By benchmarking and celebrating the leading practices of Civic 50 Orange County honorees, the Business Journal and OneOC hope to provide inspiration and a framework for other companies to build and grow social initiatives to create a stronger, healthier and more vibrant Orange County.
— Daniel McQuaid and Pete Weitzner
OneOC President & CEO
Editor, Orange County Business Journal
