Booz Allen Welcomes Staff Participation in its Nonprofit Funding Decisions
Employees use an efficient online donation tool and grant program to multiply their support for local charities.
When asked why she supports local nonprofit organizations such as the Columbia Festival of the Arts, Booz Allen Hamilton senior associate Robin Steele paraphrases Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm: “Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.”
Booz Allen has always been committed to supporting not only many large, nationally known nonprofits, but also 650 of the smaller, local organizations that serve the communities in which the firm’s employees live. And Booz Allen’s choices as to which nonprofits to support are not arbitrary—it relies on its staff to help determine where it should put its resources.
Since 2000, the Giving Station and Volunteer Service Grant (VSG) programs have made it easy for staff members to get involved in Booz Allen’s corporate philanthropy programs. Employees use the online Giving Station to donate to their favorite charities using a personal credit card or payroll deduction to make a one-time or recurring pledge. An important feature of the Giving Station is that Booz Allen underwrites administrative costs so 100% of the employee’s donation goes directly to the nonprofit.
In addition, employees who volunteer at least 40 hours for a charity can apply for up to two VSGs per year. If a grant is approved, Booz Allen will issue a check to that charity in the individual’s name. On average, the firm donates $500,000 in VSGs each year.
In addition to the Festival of the Arts, Steele has received Booz Allen VSG grants for the Columbia Delta Foundation, The Columbia Foundation’s Women’s Giving Circle, and the Links, Inc. Foundation, all located near her Maryland home. She plans to use the Giving Station to send automatic payroll deductions to The Columbia Foundation.
Tim LaFleur, a principal in San Diego, uses the Giving Station to contribute a portion of his salary to the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) in his neighborhood, and has donated VSG funds to the ASYMCA and the Surface Navy Association.
Associate Laura Williams, who works in McLean, volunteers at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia (JCCNV). The JCCNV applied the Booz Allen VSG check it received from Williams to its early childhood program.
Plaza of the Rockies associate Jon Cornick has requested two VSGs every year since 2005 for Outward Bound Wilderness and for the Pikes Peak Road Runners, the largest and oldest running club in Colorado, which holds races to assist the local homeless community.
“Outward Bound Wilderness co-hosts a 170-mile relay race across the Colorado Rockies in which our corporate team, the Booz Allen Dead Sprinters (BADS), participates,” Cornick says. “BADS was the number-one fundraiser for Outward Bound Wilderness in 2007.”
VSGs: A Unique Concept in Charitable Donation
To receive a VSG, an individual must be a full- or part-time Booz Allen employee for at least one year, and demonstrate substantive personal involvement with a charitable or educational organization by contributing at least 40 volunteer hours annually. Employees are eligible for one grant per fiscal year per nonprofit, for up to two nonprofits.
Eligible employees can apply for a VSG by searching Booz Allen’s database of 2,500 nonprofits and completing an online application. The list is vetted by the firm’s legal department and an external vendor called Truist to ensure the organizations included meet the firm’s best practices standards. Among those standards, each nonprofit must direct the majority of the funds it raises to its programs—not its operating costs—and must have the capacity to remain a viable organization over time.
Employees can also make suggestions for nonprofits to be included in the database. “Staff members have lots of different interests,” associate Leyla Serafino says. “One employee volunteers 150 hours a year doing scientific research on reptiles.” Political, religious, or alumni organizations, however, are not included in the program.
When an employee’s nominated organization is accepted for a VSG, the organization is put in a queue to be vetted, which takes 5 to 7 days. The employee is notified of its status or he/she can check online. The amount of the grant is determined by the organization’s impact, footprint, and the number of years the employee has been involved. Some employee-recommended organizations can receive more than $1,000 each year in VSG funding.
Contributing to the Causes in which Staff are Involved
When a VSG is approved, the employee will receive a check from Booz Allen in about 45 days. But it took less than two weeks for Tim LaFleur to learn that the ASYMCA would receive the VSG funds for which he had applied. The organization was awarded $2,500.
“We did a photo op when we presented the check to ASYMCA the first time,” he says. “I have requested a VSG for the organization for three years now. I also coordinated an effort to give donated computers to ASYMCA, which they refurbish and give to military families.”
LaFleur has been involved with ASYMCA and the Surface Navy Association for more than 10 years and currently serves on both boards. “They are doing amazing things for our Sailors and Marines and their families, and they need our help,” he says.
Booz Allen’s VSG program has provided a way for LaFleur to multiply his efforts to support the nonprofits. “The firm is willing to help those who are willing to give their own time and money to these organizations.”
When Jon Cornick delivered the VSG check to Outward Bound Wilderness in 2007, the woman taking donations opened the envelope, screamed, hugged him, and said it was the most they’d ever received so far. In 2008, Booz Allen provided $750 in Cornick’s name to the Pikes Peak Road Runners and $2,500 to Outward Bound from team BADS.
He says, “I donate time and money to these organizations because I consider myself lucky to be in the position to do so. In today’s sedentary society, there is a need to work at being healthy enough to live life in a rewarding and contributory way. People from seven to seventy years old participate in Pikes Peak Road Runners events. Outward Bound builds one quality that all self-help activities require for success—character.
“Booz Allen’s VSG program is so well run that I can’t think of any way to improve it,” Cornick continues. “The approval process is quick, and I’m kept informed on the status of our requests. The Giving Station is automated where automation makes sense and personal where you need that human understanding.”
When Laura Williams wanted to increase awareness about JCCNV, she started not by requesting a VSG or using the Giving Station, but by posting information about the nonprofit on a blog she maintains on the firm's internal social networking tool known as Hello. At least a dozen of her Booz Allen colleagues are currently JCC members.
“My family and I donate time and funds to JCCNV,” she says. “I volunteer in the classrooms, assemble toys for the new playground, landscape, volunteer at large events such as ArtsFest, copy information, and stuff envelopes. I’ve been asked to attend membership meetings, and I bring my Booz Allen strategic communications experience to this group.
After she applied for and received a VSG, Williams was happy to present the firm’s check for $250 to JCCNV program director, who was “thrilled,” Williams says. “The VSG and Giving Station programs demonstrate the generosity of Booz Allen in supporting the community around us.”
For Robin Steele, the VSG program represents an opportunity for community service organizations to learn more about Booz Allen and how seriously the firm believes in volunteerism.
“Over the past four years, Booz Allen has provided $6,000 to the Columbia Delta Foundation, The Columbia Foundation’s Women’s Giving Circle, and the Links, Inc. Foundation in response to my requests for VSGs,” Steele says. “The VSG process is fairly simple and fast. I’ve been involved with these nonprofits from 5 to 8 years each and have personally donated over $4,000 to them over the years. I attend monthly board meetings and assist with fundraising and programming activities.
“It’s important to me to actively participate in the Howard County, Maryland community because I believe in giving back,” she continues. “Since an early age, I’ve been involved in community groups such as student government, NAACP, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and many more. It’s my way to help make the world a better place.”
story posted November 25, 2008
