The Changing Face of Philanthropy

Last year, 2,500 out of 5,500 Ameriprise employees participated in volunteer work, logging 15,000 volunteer hours on company-run projects like Habitat for Humanity and a pen pal program with Minneapolis Public Schools. Another important way Amerprise Financial employees give back is by lending their expertise—for example, in marketing or budgeting—to a nonprofit. Often, organizations really need sweat equity or brain power, says Jones, more than a check from a corporation.

“Nonprofits told us that intellectual capital is so important to them,” she says. “And we’ve learned over the years that it’s just as valuable to  employees. They learn by doing and develop teamwork and leadership skills that they might not have had the opportunity to use internally.”

The move toward a more engaged corporate philanthropy also has been underway at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Instead of simply financing organizations, the company prefers to give nonprofits a helping hand, says Brad Hewitt, senior vice president at Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in Minneapolis. “We describe it as the difference between a welfare program and an investment program,” he says. “One is where you hand out and one is where you are preparing someone to give a hand up. As people do more and more charitable ventures, the ones that get results tend to be oriented toward an investment, not a welfare approach.”

Putting the “hand up” approach into action, Thrivent and Lutheran Social Services helped launch a community savings center in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis. The center, sponsored by Faith in the City, offers a tangible way for working poor people to improve their lives. First, Thrivent and Lutheran Social Services enroll participants in financial classes on budgeting, debt reduction, and saving money. Once they save $2,000, the federal government chips in $2,000, and Thrivent matches $2,000. The person can then use that $6,000 for education, a down payment on a home, or to start a new business.

The “hand up” approach seems to be working. Not only for the community savings center, but for the investment and value-driven philanthropy that nonprofit professionals have observed on an individual and corporate scale. Gifts are larger and they are often made with greater care and specificity than in years past. The giving climate is good, and our communities are the better for it.