February 2009 - Posts
Today's the day. International Corporate Philanthropy Day, that is. I hope, wherever you are, companies in your community are pausing to think about how they give back and serve as catalysts for others to follow suit.
I feel exceptionally fortunate to work for a company where giving back is a part of our DNA. Where you can walk into the building and see a visible reminder that we care -- a lot -- about service. Friday was one of those days.
It certainly didn't hurt that morning carpool ran on time, Starbucks had my to-go order ready, and I spent the first hour of the work day collaborating with the other members of the local Association of Fundraising Professional's board (I have the honor of serving as board president this year and am continually impressed with the enthusiasm, experience and passion of our members. The coffee is a small thank you for all the board does to fuel our programs.)
I arrived at Blackbaud, gearing up to see what was in my email, what meetings were on the calendar and who I needed to speak with to advance an important proposal. What I found, in our lobby, were 13 very energetic, very happy four-and-five-year old students from Meeting Street Academy, a local school focused on providing disadvantaged children with the best education possible.
The kids were guests of my colleague, Sally Ehrenfried, who had organized the field trip at the school's request to show them examples of people at work in a professional setting. I completely pushed aside all that work I was thinking about tackling and asked if I could tag along. For the next hour, I watched and listened as several of my Blackbaud colleagues talked with the children about their jobs (in terms a young child would understand), what they studied in school and what they did to volunteer.
I remember all too well from my own experiences as a mom how difficult it is for a young child to sit still and stay focused. But these kids were great, asking a lot of questions and interjecting opinions and comments about books and friends and birthday parties. They capped off their experience with a special lunch of chicken fingers, green beans and pudding in our cafeteria, having adapted to our environment the way kids do - very quickly.
At the end of lunch, I was talking with one little boy about his upcoming birthday and other topics important to his four-year-old view of the world. He stopped, waved his arms around and said, "You know, this is like a dream." I said, "Blackbaud?" And he said, "Yes. It's like a dream."
Call me a sap, but my heart did that little flip thing it does when I find something touching. I smiled and told him that he should go to college (a BIG message they hear at school) and come back to see what job he'd like to do here. What mattered the most in this exchange was that the field trip was already accomplishing its goal and had opened this one child's eyes to what was out there in the world.
I know, in the end, that the school has the really hard job of keeping the children on track and helping them make the most of the opportunities ahead. But I was proud, at that moment, for the very small part we played in helping 13 little kids. I was proud to work with Sally, Lindsey, Brandi, Jennifer, Stefanie and Cile... That they took a little time away from their business schedules to share their day with the students of Meeting Street Academy.
I'm glad we have a day to celebrate corporate philanthropy, but I'm even more glad that I have so many people around me who understand that small acts of kindness give us reasons to believe.
Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on my first blog posting. It's clear there are many people out there who share my belief in giving back. I hope you'll all join me in carrying the message to anyone else who will listen.
I promised, when I launched this blog, to talk about how Blackbaud gives back and serves as a catalyst for our 2,100 employees to follow suit. Blackbaud has a number of different offices, including Charleston; Cambridge; Indianapolis; Denver; San Diego; Glasgow, Scotland; London; and Sydney, Australia. Plus, we have more than 200 employees who work out of their homes.
Given that we are headquartered in Charleston, many of our philanthropic traditions began in and around the Lowcountry of South Carolina. As we grew and became a part of other communities around the world, local traditions developed in each one. One of the key elements of my job is to provide a corporate umbrella that reaches across all our operations while also preserving these local initiatives. We do that, in part, through an effort we call Team Blackbaud.
Here some's history... More than a dozen years ago in Charleston, a group of employees started an informal group that encouraged grassroots volunteerism. The employees picked what they were interested in and encouraged their friends and co-workers to get involved. Team Blackbaud has done terrific work for a variety of nonprofits and helped countless employees find outlets for their passion to serve. The only problem -- well, lets say challenge -- is that the programs were only offered in Charleston.
So turned the challenge into an opportunity and launched Team Blackbaud operations in all our locations. Each group's charge is to lead grassroots volunteer initiatives for employees in that area. The decision about what to do and how is up to them and allows each location to preserve valued traditions while responding to needs that might be unique within that community.
When we established all these teams, we recognized that it was important to bring them together to form a corporate volunteerism infrastructure. So we asked the chair of each local group to serve on Team Blackbaud Global. And we tapped one of our 200 remote employees to join us and represent all those people who relate to the company in a very different way. Team Blackbaud Global helps to advise our Corporate Philanthropy function and ensure that our employees' perspectives -- from all over the place -- are represented when we make a decision or launch a corporate program.
So far, so good. We're learning as we go. And best of all, through this volunteerism framework we have, we are seeing what I call "philanthropy champions" step up and serve as leaders across the company. Team Blackbaud is helping individual people feel empowered to make a difference.
Thanks to all my colleagues who do so much to give back. I'm proud to work with you.
Welcome to my new blog. My name is Rachel Hutchisson, and I have the pleasure of running Blackbaud's global philanthropic initiatives. That means both how we give as a company -- both the gifts of money and of time -- and how we serve as a catalyst for our 2,100 employees across the world to make a difference.
We have a corporate value at Blackbaud that "service to others makes the world a better place." In this blog, I hope to carry on a conversation that celebrates service, shares stories I come across in my travels in philanthropy, and challenge others to participate.
I wholeheartedly believe that giving back shapes who we are. In my own case, I grew up surrounded by philanthropy without knowing that's what it was called. My father, a professor of English literature, served on the board of the public library. My mother tutored adults for a literacy association and spent countless hours helping the senior citizen's center build a sustainable operation. They gave money to causes they believed in and got their hands dirty, launching a communal gardening and recycling program.
In addition to learning that green and brown glass are worth more than clear glass, my sisters and I all became a part of my parent's volunteer-driven ecosystem. Of course, I would never admit that back then. They were my parents, after all, and I was spending my free time sorting glass and weeding the onions. But here I sit, so many years later, working with nonprofits every day, helping people to match their passion to serve with opportunities to give back and remembering all the things my parents did that headed me in this direction.
Today, I am passionate about the role of nonprofits in society and how each one of us can contribute our own skills in support of their efforts. I owe a tremendous amount of credit to Blackbaud, the company that opened my eyes to the vast expanse of nonprofits across the world -- and the incredible impact they make. Working for a company that values service the way Blackbaud does is a privilege.
Each day, I try to live the "service to others" value. When it's time to go home, it's hard (ok, impossible) to just shut that off. So I carry the message into the house with me, and to the dinner table, where my 8 and 10 year old boys fill up the dining room with reports about their worlds. And talk about how much fun it was to help the horticultural society weed all those gardens at the shopping center. And I think, hey, I'm getting my message across bit by bit...
For the record, I didn't make them weed any onions. They invited me to join them on their mission to help out in their own neighborhood. And that, I figure, is a very good thing.
At Blackbaud, we have a corporate value that "service to others makes the world a better place." This blog will focus on our service value -- and the broader world of philanthropy -- in action. I'll share examples of what we are doing to make a difference in the world, as a company and as individual people committed to civic engagement. Please join the discussion, and share your examples so that, together, we can create positive change.