Ask leaders of Central Texas businesses why they contribute to charitable causes and encourage employees to volunteer, and you get a variety of answers: It’s part of our mission; it’s the right thing to do; we want to strengthen this community.
But in many Central Texas companies, such as those sponsoring this year’s Trail of Lights, personal passion drives involvement. Employees are invited to bring community projects to leadership’s attention, to sit on in-house boards that choose philanthropic donations or to pitch in with projects such as building playgrounds or cleaning up green spaces.
At Cirrus Logic, employees often bring causes to leadership, and leadership supports them. The company, which provides circuits for professional audio applications, boasts many musicians among its staff, and they love to help out with causes having to do with music. Cirrus Logic is involved with Austin City Limits, the South by Southwest Music Festival and the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.
The health insurance company Humana picks causes that meet the company’s mission of promoting healthy people, a healthy planet and healthy performance. Some of the causes are nationally chosen. But in each community, volunteers from the company’s employees study proposals for a $100,000 grant given to a community organization.
At South Point Automotive Group, the heart behind the company’s giving is founder Bill Munday, says Scott Stark, the managing partner of South Point Auto.
“Bill is very much a self-made man. He knows he would never be where he is if someone had not given him an opportunity,” Stark says.
Most of the company’s donations, whether to children’s shelters or employee scholarships, are created to provide an opportunity for people who might not have one otherwise.
For employees, feeling devotion to a cause drives a higher level of commitment. Workers aren’t just writing an obligatory check; they are answering a calling or solving a problem that matters to them. In doing so, they are improving their community, and their own lives, too.
South Point Automotive Group Founder Sets an Example
Austin, says Scott Stark, is a great place to work but an even better place to live.
“For as long as I can remember, my daughter and I ran the Trail of Lights 5K,” he says, “Since she got big enough to trot ... that was one of the cornerstones of the holiday season. It’s so beautiful along the lake. We missed it.”
So when Stark and the others at South Point Auto learned of plans to resurrect the event after a two-year hiatus, they jumped on board.
“I know it sounds way too altruistic. When you think of car dealers you think about fine, upstanding citizens,” Stark jokes. “But when giving is the right thing to do, we give.”
For Munday, that giving has included spending $350,000 to buy a Fiat donated by Jay Leno to raise money for the Fisher House. The nonprofit provides services for wounded U.S. soldiers and military veterans. The car was worth $25,000.
Munday has focused on providing opportunities to children who might not have many. He has donated half a million dollars to Austin Children’s Center.
“They’re in a bad situation,” Stark says. “They have no opportunity for a reasonable road to success.”
Munday has also provided more than 500 scholarships for his employees’ children.
“The scholarship is not based on being in the top five or 10 percent of the class,” Stark says. “There may be a really bright kid who has to work to help his family pay the bills. That may preclude him from getting straight A’s.”
And at St. Edward’s University, a school that strives to provide scholarships to students from low-income families, Munday has made a $13 million donation to replace the old Scarborough-Phillips Library.
South Point Auto employees also get involved with campaigns including the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and the Austin Heart Walk. Munday’s generosity, Stark says, filters down. He leads by example.
“He’s always been a really strong example of what charitable donations are all about,” Stark says.
Cirrus Logic’s Mission “Bubbles Up” From Employees
For Cirrus Logic, philanthropy “wasn’t this big formal thing,” says Jo-Dee Benson, Vice President and Chief Culture Officer. “It came from the employees and bubbled up to a swell through surveys and that kind of thing. We adopted it slowly, and it really fit our overall corporate culture.”
With about 650 employees, Benson said, up to 50 percent might get involved in any one effort. That can-do culture is a big reason why Cirrus Logic was ranked ninth on the list of best small and medium workplaces in America by the Great Place to Work® Institute in 2012. And a generous workplace can spread ideas far beyond the office walls.
“I painted a bridge area (in Shoal Creek) with three little kids, and we just had a blast,” Benson says. “That’s when philanthropy starts, when you’re about 3 feet high and you see mom and dad and their company giving back. That’s a phenomenal foundation for philanthropy.”
The company joins a variety of causes to try to resonate with its employees. While the musicians in the company might be inspired to help with the musical events, others might be more inclined to give blood, plant trees, help with a Habitat for Humanity build or do a race for health. If employees are interested, Cirrus supports them.
Cirrus Logic also has partnered with neighborhood associations to clean up Shoal Creek.
“That makes it even cooler, when you get to know the neighbors,” Benson says. That’s the integration of our philosophy, our culture and the needs of the community.”
Fittingly, an employee was the one who brought the revival of the Trail of Lights to the company’s attention.
“We're a very family oriented organization,” Benson says. “When we heard they were pulling this together, almost literally overnight, we came forward right away as one of the larger sponsors. One thing about our corporate philanthropy is we try to integrate things we can do together with our families.”
Humana prioritizes health
All of Humana’s philanthropic and social responsibility efforts promote healthy people, a healthy planet and healthy performance, says Tom Silliman, Market Practice Leader for the Large Commercial Sales Division of Central Texas.
Healthy people includes sponsoring the Trail of Lights 5K this year as well as partnering nationally with KaBOOM, an organization that builds playgrounds. In Austin, Humana and KaBOOM built a playground and garden space for Cedars International Academy with the help of about 75 employees.
Healthy planet includes sustainability efforts, and healthy performance emphasizes “being responsible and ethical in business practices, all the way down through all of our associates and compliance training,” Silliman says
Every year, the company provides a $100,000 grant to a local nonprofit. The winning grant has to meet one of Humana’s goals, be doable and make an impact. A Humana board of associate volunteers goes through the grant applications and chooses finalists. A group of community judges chooses from the top three. Last year, there were 62 applicants.
And this year, bringing back the Trail of Lights is a cause that personally touches many employees.
“It’s about the memories that are created, giving families the opportunity to share this wonderful experience during the holiday season,” Silliman says.
