Giving

Minnesota’s large corporations certainly have made names for themselves nationally as trailblazers in charitable giving. Talk about corporate philanthropy and Target, Wells Fargo, Medtronic, and 3M quickly get mentioned for their abiding commitment to giving back to the communities in which they do business. Yet the state’s strong tradition of corporate generosity also extends to companies of all sizes.

Even though they might not get as much ink for giving back, small and medium businesses across Minnesota are equally dedicated to sharing their success with others. “Small and medium businesses probably give at even higher levels than our largest corporations,” notes Bill King, president of the Minnesota Council on Foundations. “This culture of giving in business in Minnesota isn’t just at our highest and largest levels. It runs through all levels of the business community.”

In fact, 80 percent of businesses with one to 500 employees donated money to causes, reports Minnesota Business Gives, a program of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. Its 2002 survey, which was conducted to gauge levels of giving across the state and among companies of all sizes, found that businesses with less than 20 employees proportionally gave more money than their larger counterparts.

Exhibit A can be found at Ken and Kari Howe’s Dunn Bros. coffee shop in Bemidji. When opening for business nearly three years ago, the couple decided that sharing their time, money, and product would be central to their operations. Putting that belief into action, Dunn Bros. helped underwrite a United Way effort to publicize its agencies working in the Bemidji area, and the business often makes donations of cash and coffee to local organizations. Ken Howe recently published “The Coffee Cookbook,” and 100 percent of its profits will go to Coffee Kids, a New Mexico–based nonprofit that aims to improve the lives of coffee farmers.

“We want to positively contribute to the lives of our customers, employees, and community,” says Ken Howe. “If our community is successful, our business will be successful, and we in turn will be successful.”

Teams Lead the Way

Large corporations typically have a staff dedicated to community affairs, while giving at small companies tends to be more grassroots, says Randi Yoder, senior vice president of donor relations at Greater Twin Cities United Way.

That was the case this holiday season at LarsonAllen, a Minneapolis professional services firm of CPAs, consultants, and advisors. A small team of employees was kicking around ideas to keep the company’s United Way fundraising drive fresh, and it came up with the idea of holding a food drive. The different floors of the company competed against each other to see which could donate the most food. In the end, LarsonAllen ended up filling its skyway-level glass atrium in the U.S. Bank Plaza building with 6,378 pounds of food (or 11,513 items) for NorthPoint Food Shelf in Minneapolis.

“The people from NorthPoint said they hadn’t seen anything like it before. They had to make multiple trips to come and get the food,” recalls Jessica Flint, a client services assistant who helped plan the United Way holiday campaign.