Corporate Example
What Was the Goal?
Strengthen the connection among the bank's San Francisco employees and their community.
What Made it Successful?
Starting with employees, we kicked off the project with a survey to collect feedback on past volunteer efforts and to identify their areas of passion (i.e. arts, underserved youth, poverty) and skills (i.e. training, organizing, design). We then assessed the results and identified and vetted nonprofits that fit the criteria. Along the way, we recruited internal staff champions for key input and to help spread the word.
“This is the 1st time we’ve brought all of our San Francisco employees together around a common giving project. Everyone walked away impacted by the work they did and with a greater understanding for the complex challenges homeless families face in the city. It also created unique an opportunity to build relationships with co-workers outside ones business division.”
What Did You Do?
We created “Community Day” as a way to learn about key issues that are relevant to staff and give them the opportunity to spend an afternoon volunteering nearby. Leading up to Community Day, a few things happened:
Kick-Off Event: To help employees understand the issue of family homelessness in SF (the topic they picked), we invited the nonprofits to take part in a Q&A discussion. Staff were then able to select the volunteer activities they would participate in on Community Day.
Grant Dollars: Deutsche Bank understood that coordinating 100+ volunteers is work for the nonprofits, so they provided a $5,000 grant to each participating organization.
In-Kind Donation Drives: Boxes were placed all over their office to collect Halloween Costumes for youth as well as for Toiletry Items for homeless families.
“It really seems to work both ways for our Community Day experience. Compass gets a wonderful opportunity to provide more insight into our important work but we’re also rejuvenated by the spirit of the individuals volunteering who sincerely want to make an impact in our community.”
The Result
Connection. Employees united around a common project while getting outside of their world and into the reality of life for homeless families living nearby. And because the project had many touch points along the way, it created a deeper commitment to a part of the city that is often ignored. Finally, creating an opportunity for staff to come together outside of the office helped bolster team morale and a provided a fun break from the daily routine.