At Businessolver’s Vision 2024 Conference, the theme was “Unlocking MORE in ‘24.” For me, as Foundation Director, my mission is to make the most impact for our clients, communities, and our Solvers. That’s why my “MORE in ‘24” word is “impact.”
I started in the non-profit world holding several titles until, eventually, I became an Executive Director. From my time serving in the non-profit sector, I learned the importance of working together with corporations to communicate, collaborate, and advance the company’s mission. I learned early on that it wasn’t just about donations, but it was about faith and trust in corporate donors to serve the non-profit’s best interests.
In 2014, I left the non-profit sector for a job in corporate philanthropy and have been doing this work with various companies ever since. I have found corporate philanthropy to be my calling and I believe in the philosophy of “lead with your heart.” To me, this means using empathy and my relator strength to walk side by side with each non-profit our company serves and lift them up daily. This isn’t far off from Businessolver’s mission, commitments, and investments in empathy, DEIB, and a culture of excellence.
Businessolver is proud to support the American Cancer Society (ACS) through our Foundation. They were a natural fit for us to partner with for the philanthropic session of our Vision 2024 Conference. The final total raised was over $10K with most of the donations coming during our conference highlighting ACS’s work. Plus, Businessolver proudly matched our attendees’ donations making an even greater impact on the organization and in turn people’s lives.
It was important for us to not only highlight their amazing work, but to recognize the efforts they are making in the DEIB space. ACS shares Businessolver’s mission to advance programming around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and we have found there is nothing greater than when companies and communities work together to make a bigger impact.
The keynote speaker for the Vision 2024 Conference was Grammy-award winning rapper, Common. During his session, he said: “whatever we choose to do…we have the power to influence and change other’s lives.” I think this is a powerful reminder that we can’t always see the direct impact of everything we do but knowing that the work is important means you are having a great impact. This applies to any career, volunteer opportunity, educating yourself, parenting, and much more.
To me, Common’s quote means focusing on putting your ego aside as you live your life. The power to change a life is much more significant than always feeling like you must receive praise, create, or be recognized. Relish the mere fact that you changed a life.
Out-of-the-box ways of connecting community and employees, like our Solver Service Experiences, are an amazing way to keep the momentum of our foundation going. It is important to continue to innovate and envision creative ways to “market” your corporate foundation to the public. Being recognized as an employer with an active and ever-evolving strategy to give back to communities is important to clients and future Solvers. We have seen an increase in potential employees asking about how we give back and we are committed to being a leader in our industry and company size in how we deliver impact.
Why did I select the word “impact” for my MORE in ’24? It is simple. Everything the Businessolver Foundation does and stands for is about making an impact on our Solver population, clients, and communities. We can only do that if I am constantly and consistently focusing on the impact of the Businessolver Foundation. I am personally invested in making our Foundation the best in class, and I can only do that by focusing on the impact of our dollars, time, and resources. I live and breathe our Foundation and its impact every day and it is something I am very proud of.
See the impact of The Businessovler Foundation
