Recently I attended the Annual Business Conference put on by the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce. It was a fantastic event, with a number of great speakers and insightful presentations.
It was during Casey Sheahan’s (CEO of Patagonia) presentation that the idea of 1% Close To Home came to mind. Casey was talking about the incredibly successful 1% For the Planet initiative that was started by Patagonia, in which companies commit 1% of their GROSS revenue to approved environmental causes.
My wife Nicki and I have always practiced giving a portion of our income to charitable organizations and events, giving till it hurts as the saying goes, but I began to wonder what our company’s policy, if any, should look like. Although we are concerned about environmental causes, the focus of 1% FTP seemed too narrow. What is truly important to Umbrella Roofing, it’s employees and owners?
The only answer is OUR COMMUNITY! The community that has blessed us so greatly with the opportunity to live and work in the Roaring Fork Valley. This is where our heart lies and so it follows that this is where our giving will occur.
So here goes – BEGINNING JANUARY 1ST 2011 UMBRELLA ROOFING WILL GIVE 1% OF IT’S GROSS REVENUE TO ROARING FORK VALLEY NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS. There. I said it.
Customers don’t worry! We will not be raising our prices to offset this new budget line item. It will only affect our bottom line, and the real bottom line is that we are a part of this community. You may, however, feel free to feel good about doing business with us.
1% Close To Home – it’s going to be awesome!