February 2002 - Corporate Volunteerism -- Connecting the Dots

CVC Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker Jim Campbell (CEO of Wells Fargo Minnesota)

It"s a pleasure to be here surrounded by so many leaders - leaders in the business world and in our local communities. Imagine adding up all of the volunteer hours and charitable giving from organizations in this room - the impact you have on the landscape of our Minnesota communities is incredible.

That said, we need to maintain this level of volunteerism. Understanding why corporate volunteerism is important for community growth and prosperity, but how we energize our employees and organizations to bolster their involvement is critical. It begins with "connecting the dots" between the individual, the corporation and volunteerism.

Now, everyone remembers connecting the dots, right? As kids we"d take out the crayons, open our coloring book, and haphazardly draw lines from one point to another until we completed what we thought was a piece of art. Good news, the type of "connecting the dots" I speak of is even easier and just as fun.

It starts with building partnerships. Never has there been a time when community partnerships have been so critical to help companies move forward. I"m a great believer in partnerships. No single person or organization has all the answers... or could even anticipate all the questions.

Building these relationships is the bedrock of the business that each of us is in. Companies who contribute to making their communities better places to live and work are rewarded by the marketplace. And this is how we grow our businesses, by growing the community.

At Wells Fargo, our community commitment is directly tied to our culture. We believe a company"s "culture" is key to its success. The bottom line for measuring success in our business is showing how much we care. We repeatedly say, that we are only as healthy as the communities in which we do business.

If community outreach is part of your company culture, make it a top priority.

Make a commitment to establish, support and promote employee volunteer programs that encourage involvement from all employees. Treat it like you would any other core business function.

Maybe you"re initiating a volunteer program at your organization and need some basics on where to begin. Determining the company"s priorities and how they tie into volunteer efforts is the first step. Next, examine the employees" interests and align these with needs in the community.

Then connect with organizations, such as the Volunteer Resource Center or the Points of Light Foundation. You"re already aware of the Corporate Volunteer Council, as you"ve taken the time to attend this meeting. The folks in this room can also provide tips to help your organization reach their goals. And remember to keep the lines of communication open through constant evaluation, sharing information and though reward and recognition.

In today"s business world, a company needs to send a consistent and a constant message to its employees - reinforcing the importance of volunteerism. There"s no doubt, we"re all busy - people and resources are stretched.

By giving employees the opportunity to volunteer, it"s not only stress relief and learning for him or her, but as a manager, you"re guaranteeing yourself a leader that will push to make the best better as they see what can be accomplished.

Allow employees to volunteer on company time, in fact encourage them to do it. It may take effort on your part, to pick up the phone and communicate the message to your direct reports, but it"s so important to establish policies, procedures and incentives that encourage optimum employee participation. Incentives may range from a free lunch to a t-shirt or an extra bonus.

And what better incentive, than the promise of personal growth and development. Volunteering on a nonprofit board is a remarkable way for a young professional to develop skills. It also helps an individual identify interests they feel passionate about.

In fact, that"s how I got my start in business - by demonstrating leadership in the community.

In this role, there are no barriers. You"re given the chance to practice coaching skills and techniques without being held back by corporate structure.

Volunteerism can be incorporated into an individual"s development plan. For some, community involvement may be an objective, for others it"s a way to reach their objective, by acquiring new skills.

And when you volunteer and build community partnerships, you have fun! Volunteerism fosters a great feeling of success. It helps improve one"s well being and self-esteem. When people"s lives in the community are improved and good things result from your efforts, you won"t find a better reason to celebrate success.

What a rewarding feeling it was to volunteer as the 1998 United Way General Campaign chair - raising $1,650,000, a forty percent increase over the previous year, for communities in need.

And what a great feeling I got, leading the capital campaign for Junior Achievement"s new Exchange City - envisioning the children"s lives that would be touched.

Volunteerism is also a great networking tool and a team building activity. A chance to get to know other people internal or external to your organization. I meet so many team members, working side by side with them during Habitat for Humanity builds. People can throw out titles, like C-E-O and executive vice president and get to know one another as individuals.

Measuring volunteer results in your company can also help determine the emphasis your company places on community outreach.

At Wells Fargo, we conduct on-going team member surveys each year. As a result, we collect data that shows where we focus our volunteer efforts and where new social problems in the community exist - again, connecting those dots.

Volunteer surveys have helped us improve the way we respond to better meet changing needs, by targeting our efforts to volunteer"s interests and to where there"s a need in the community. From survey results, we recognize demand for team members" help is growing.

Last year alone, Wells Fargo team members donated 78,000 hours of support to nonprofits across the state.

And now a unique volunteer opportunity presents itself to the nation. After the tragedy of September 11, President Bush called on all Americans to join in the fight against terrorism. When people inquired as to how they could help, he said, "The answer is simple. Make a commitment to service in your own community, by mentoring a child, housing those who need a home, participating in your neighborhood watch program.

Recently, in the State of the Union address he took it one step further, challenging each American to commit two years - 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime to service your community and your country.

An opportunity to strengthen our communities, meet our neighbors and get involved. And there"s so many ways to participate.

Every community welcomes charitable giving, but in a time when companies are faced with limited resources, only some may be able to give money.

But everyone can volunteer his or her time. Even if it"s an hour a month - multiply that by 20 people and that"s quite a contribution. Many times volunteering has the power to outweigh the ability to write checks.

It"s amazing to see the impact a lot of people can make by contributing a little time - it"s truly powerful the difference it can make in shaping a community.

As you may know, I"ll be retiring from Wells Fargo Bank this spring, and as I and other community leaders begin to retire, we"ll look to individuals, such as yourselves, to step in and fill these leadership roles. Even as the face of volunteerism changes, the spirit of dedicated volunteers keeps going.

In close, I"d like to offer some advice. Make volunteerism a daily challenge. Continue building relationships, developing leaders and reinforcing the importance of volunteerism everyday.

By committing yourself to this challenge, we"ll help build stronger company volunteer programs and stronger communities.

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