As we enter a season of giving back and giving thanks, many members of the startup community are looking for ways to give to the less fortunate. Whether it’s volunteering, donating money or collecting canned goods or other items, playing an active role in our local communities is not only doing the right thing, but it also benefits the giver, too.
We caught up with four Colorado startups to find out how they give back to their communities and how it’s impacted their teams.
As part of one of Kapost’s culture retreats in Denver, the team wanted to get out and help the community.
“I wanted to make this retreat not only about us connecting together and continuing building our culture, but also to get our name out to the community and show the need to support locally and give back,” said Jessica Nerad, Kapost’s office manager.
The team split into two groups, volunteering with the food bank and a non-profit called RAFT, or Resource Area for Teaching.
The food bank team separated and created boxes with goods that will ultimately provide nearly 4,500 meals to Denver families. At RAFT, the group created hands-on learning kits that will serve 2,500 Denver students.
Every year, Zen Planner sponsors active military and veteran families during the holiday season, purchasing gifts for an entire family.
“As an organization, we don’t just provide a service to our customer, we share their core values and beliefs,” said Casey Steiner, Zen Planner’s director of talent and culture. “Like our CrossFit customers, we have a deep appreciation and bond to our active military personnel and veterans. That’s why we adopt a military family during the holiday season.”
This year, the team is working with Soldiers’ Angels to purchase and provide gifts to a military family. The entire Zen Planner team chips in by shopping for, wrapping and delivering the gifts. They also decided to skip one of their usual catered Friday lunches in December so they can use the funds to buy better presents for the family.
GutCheck has their own “GutCheck Gives Back” committee, which partners with different organizations in Denver every quarter. They’ve done everything from fundraising and awareness walks to sorting inventory and preparing meals. Typically, 30 to 50 employees participate in volunteering and another 50 to 75 donate to that quarter’s cause. Some remote employees will even fly in to participate in philanthropy events.
“Overall, we've seen a lot of participation across the company, departments and management,” said Nicole Burford, GutCheck’s digital marketing manager. “It’s great for team building, cross-functional interaction and stronger ties to the community.”
Last year, AdTaxi ran a canned food drive where they ended up donating 200 pounds of food to local food banks. They also donated $200 worth of teddy bears to the Children’s Museum on National Teddy Bear Day, and they raised $3,000 for Special Olympics through their participation in the Polar Bear Plunge.
Photos via featured companies.
How do you give back to your community? Tweet us with #BICOgives, and we’ll retweet our favorites.
