Nonprofit

Big Brothers Big Sisters

Profit in Charity

How businesses partnering with nonprofits helps everyone’s bottom line

By Tara O’Hanley

S

ixty-six years ago, a group of eighteen business leaders created the United Good Neighbor Fund, forming a board of directors that is now known as United Way of Anchorage. This early partnership between business leaders and nonprofit community-building organizations set the stage for a symbiotic relationship that continues to benefit the state.

“I think we all know what community we want to live in, and for our businesses, where they want their staff to be able to live, where they want their children to grow up,” explains Clark Halvorson, president and CEO of United Way of Anchorage. “Partnering with businesses to help create that community… doesn’t just help the folks who live there. It also helps the businesses and their ability to recruit and retain really great employees.”

United Way entered into one of its longest-lasting partnerships almost fifty years ago with the entity that became Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. “Their wanting and willingness to give back to the community is almost hardwired into the DNA of the organization,” according to Halvorson, whose staff recently provided Alyeska with photos from the earliest teaming events for the then-nascent organization.

In the same way they have built up essential infrastructure, many of the largest organizations in Alaska have helped to weave a social network to support people across the state. ConocoPhillips Alaska has “been an amazing partner” to the United Way of Anchorage, according to Halvorson, providing “years and years and over a million dollars invested into the United Way initiatives and our food drives.” He cites the Alaska Railroad Corporation as another company that’s been giving back to the community for over a hundred years, creating lasting change.

Alaska’s legacy corporations were far ahead of the curve when it comes to nonprofit partnerships, now recognized as a powerful strategy for business development.

Matson’s Caring for Alaska program supports creek cleanups in Anchorage (above), and the company donates its shipping services to haul out recyclable materials (below).

Chris Arend | Matson

creek cleanups in Anchorage

Matson’s Caring for Alaska program supports creek cleanups in Anchorage (above), and the company donates its shipping services to haul out recyclable materials (below).

Chris Arend | Matson

It is already quickly booking up for 2022

Relationshipping

Since entering the Alaska market through acquiring Horizon Lines in 2015, shipping company Matson has invested millions of dollars in funding and in-kind services across the state. “One of Matson’s long-held values is a deep commitment to improving the quality of life and communities that we serve and making sure that we’re a good neighbor,” says Dylan Faber, Matson’s government and community affairs manager for Alaska. “When communities are a better place, employees are happier, they’re proud to work for Matson, and they’re proud to be out there making a difference beyond just the essential role they play Alaska’s supply chain. Making the community a better place to live, work, and play for everybody is the greatest benefit we receive out of it.”

Through the Matson Giving Program, the company has donated shipping services for an ambulance to Anchorage, stadium seating for the Alaska Goldpanners baseball team in Fairbanks, pumpkins to Kodiak for 4-H’s largest annual fundraiser, furniture and a training simulation module to Covenant House Alaska, wreaths to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, and timely supplies for the Alaska SeaLife Center. Matson also directly invested in the Food Bank of Alaska’s new warehouse.

In addition to moving literal tons of goods to and within Alaska, Matson also makes a big impact by donating southbound shipping. The biggest in-kind shipment each year comes through a partnership with Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling (ALPAR), transporting up to 500 loads of recyclable material from Anchorage to Tacoma at no charge. According to Faber, “Without that service and shipping companies partnering with [ALPAR], it wouldn’t be financially feasible for recycling to happen in Alaska.”

Environmental causes are a natural fit for Matson. “We’re an ocean shipping company that serves some of the most pristine environments in the world,” Faber says. “We have a deep, deep commitment to making sure that those pristine environments stay that way.”

Through its Caring for Alaska program, Matson solicits proposals for projects that demonstrate environmental stewardship. Faber explains, “Nonprofits submit their request via our website, and then the regional giving committee, composed of employees, reviews those requests to determine how they impact the community, what the greatest needs are, and how the proposed project aligns with Matson’s giving priorities.”

The Caring for Alaska program has funded removal of invasive species, youth employment in parks, and a partnership with the Anchorage Waterways Council that brings hundreds of volunteers together to clean up dozens of creeks around Anchorage each year. “As members of the community, we want to do our part to help make it better,” says Faber.

Participating in the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce citywide cleanup puts Matson’s logo in a positive light, in addition to tidying up the community where the company’s employees live.

Wayde Carroll | Matson

man cleaning up litter

Participating in the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce citywide cleanup puts Matson’s logo in a positive light, in addition to tidying up the community where the company’s employees live.

Wayde Carroll | Matson

group cleaning up litter

“Partnering with businesses… doesn’t just help the folks who live there. It also helps the businesses and their ability to recruit and retain really great employees.”

Clark Halvorson
President and CEO
United Way of Anchorage

Identifying Company Values

In selecting a nonprofit to partner with, corporations have an opportunity to reflect on their own values. “There’s so many different ways to involve businesses,” says Jill Richardson, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska (BBBS), “but it’s just about growing relationships and hearing about what matters to the various people around the table, and then finding the alignment. With businesses, it’s a win/win, to be honest.”

Nonprofits win with robust support from for-profit partners, of course, and Richardson sees benefits flowing the other way. “Companies that put that sort of purpose at the heart of business are more desired and more trusted, and their employees are more motivated and loyal,” Richardson says. “It has such a positive impact on people that when their employer helps support them to volunteer, I think they will attach those positive feelings to their employer. And there’s arguably not been a more difficult time to find and keep good employees. So that kind of partnership should be prioritized now more than ever.”

Partnering with nonprofits can also help businesses gain clarity on what kinds of positive impacts they want to make. “We work with the businesses a lot on helping them engage their employees and identify what are those issues that they’re most passionate about,” Halvorson explains.

For instance, approximately fifteen years ago United Way leadership sat down with ConocoPhillips and heard about challenges in Alaska’s education system, especially in the areas of inequity. Out of this sprung the “90 by 2020” effort to raise graduation rates in Anchorage “and get it as close to 90 percent as we can,” according to Halvorson. “It was an area where we knew what the organization was passionate about. We were then able to go in with our campaigns and give them some data to show that we got to 88.1 percent on the graduation rate, and we were able to distribute almost 100,000 books to kids in Anchorage so that they’re better prepared to go back to school and learn.”

In maintaining close relationships with community leaders, United Way and other organizations also have an improved opportunity to respond when unexpected crises threaten the wellbeing of the community at large. Halvorson continues, “When we saw the impact of the pandemic, one of the biggest things that people were challenged with was, can they stay in their home? Can they heat their home? And John Sims, the president of ENSTAR, stepped in and said, ‘Hey, I want to have an impact on this.’ He stepped up to be our community campaign chair, which is amazing. He is helping us run the campaign and also set up the campaign that we did called ‘Warm Hearts, Warm Homes,’ to make sure that we could get people heating oil.”

The work of United Way of Anchorage has a significant impact on other areas of the state, as well. Its 211 helpline handled 40,000 calls last year, answering questions that ran the gamut from how to find childcare to how to find rent, so callers wouldn’t lose their homes. Similarly, United Way’s healthcare navigation program helped 1,700 uninsured Alaskans get coverage.

Providing for volunteer time off is not just a perk for employees but a benefit for nonprofit partners, like the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and its citywide cleanup.

Wayde Carroll | Matson

two kids and an adult with "caring for alaska" vests on

Providing for volunteer time off is not just a perk for employees but a benefit for nonprofit partners, like the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce and its citywide cleanup.

Wayde Carroll | Matson

woman picking up litter with child
Helping Hands

Thinking of ways that businesses can’t partner with nonprofits is almost easier than listing the different ways they can help. “The thing I’m trying to do as an organization is have a multiple pronged approach to partnering with businesses,” says Richardson.

BBBS accepts direct financial support, naturally, and opportunities for volunteering are varied. “That’s anywhere from board members to volunteers who are at the heart of what we do,” Richardson says. “And then businesses can also sponsor some of the activities that we do.”

For more than forty years in Alaska, BBBS has been recognized as one of the most effective youth development programs in the United States, according to bethechange907.org. BBBS of Alaska reports that 88 percent of youth participants experienced improved academic performance after spending time with a caring adult, and 93 percent reported that they avoided risky activities as a result of their involvement.

The benefit appears to be reciprocal for the mentors. “I can’t tell you the number of ‘Bigs’ [BBBS’ moniker for adult volunteers] that tell me the relationship changed their life. I want to say it’s almost unanimous,” Richardson says. “That’s why I think a business might be inclined to want to support their staff to do work like this, because their staff might come back more engaged and happier.”

Still, BBBS wants to do more. With approximately 40 percent of “Littles” in BBBS self-identifying as Alaska Native or American Indian, Davidson says the organization set a goal this year to increase Alaska Native mentors through partnerships with Alaska Native corporations, businesses, organizations, and tribes to boost recruitment. “In our most recent numbers, we’re seeing an increase [in mentors], which is so cool,” she says. “It means that these partnerships are working.”

Linking up with Native corporations has led to Goldbelt sponsoring tram rides in Juneau; Doyon, Limited hosting an Indigenous People’s Day event; and Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (CIRI) inviting BBBS to give presentations. CIRI is also reminding its staff about the corporation’s VTO, or volunteer time off employee benefit. “That’s basically the gold star of a partnership we could have with a business, that a business would give their staff time off to be a Big,” says Richardson. “In return, we can celebrate them and share them with our network and make sure that people know that [the companies have] supported us.”

man and kid jumping, surrounded by bubbles

Big Brothers Big Sisters

“Companies that put that sort of purpose at the heart of business are more desired and more trusted, and their employees are more motivated and loyal… It has such a positive impact on people that when their employer helps support them to volunteer, I think they will attach those positive feelings to their employer.”

Jill Richardson
CEO
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska

Positive Brand Alignment

This type of positive brand alignment is a significant benefit to companies, large and small. Be it from social media shares and likes, in-person events, or simply a logo displayed at a fundraiser, companies can gain visibility and positive regard when aligned with social causes. Even the smallest owner/operators can devise creative ways to pair philanthropy with profit—an author, for example.

Former Fairbanks police chief Daniel Hoffman, now a security consultant, published a book last year. He knew he wanted to donate 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale of An Alaska Fly Fisher’s Odyssey to Alaska Trout Unlimited. The cover of his first printing of a few hundred copies featured a generic version of the nonprofit’s logo, and once the conservation group saw positive press and reviews for the book, Trout Unlimited teamed with Hoffman to promote his events. The increased awareness and exposure for the book resulted in a second printing, and sales have far exceeded Hoffman’s initial expectations.

Other nontraditional ways of partnering, especially for smaller businesses, may include donating or subsidizing office space and supplies to nonprofits that can’t afford a dedicated workspace of their own. In-kind donations of professional services are also very welcome, such as legal counsel, photography, and web design. Or the partnership can simply leverage leadership strengths by investing in capacity-building for nonprofits.

As Richardson says, there are “countless possibilities to grow this mission.”