Fort Collins, COLO. — Over the span of just 24 days, OtterBox® employees donated more than a quarter of a million dollars and pledged over 1,000 hours of volunteer work during a giving challenge coordinated by the OtterCares® Foundation, the charitable arm of the Colorado case company.
On March 21, 2012 OtterBox employees each received a $200 grant certificate to kick off the “OtterCares Get it, Grow it, Give it Challenge” or the “G3 Challenge.” Employees were challenged to rise up and grow their donation to then give to a charity of their choice. They could grow the donation through fundraising, personal contributions, volunteer time or other creative ways.
At the end of last week, a total of $266,249.76 was donated to 156 charities. Of that total, over $214,000 was given to 76 organizations in Northern Colorado. The funds raised during this year’s campaign were more than double that of last year and easily surpassed OtterCares’ goal of $200,000.
Ingrained in the OtterBox culture at every level is the mantra, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” As a fast-growing Fort Collins, Colo. company, OtterBox is conscious of not only the ability, but the responsibility to enhance the communities in which they operate through charitable giving. OtterCares serves as an instrument of giving in the community for the booming case company as well as an outlet for employee volunteerism, offering opportunities to engage with initiatives like “G3.
“There are so many incredible stories of Otters working together for a common goal,” said Nancy Richardson, OtterCares founder and president. “We challenged employees to rise up and they responded with an incredible rally cry of enthusiasm and action.”
One group of OtterBox employees teamed up with other local businesses in support of Habitat for Humanity®. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Brinkman Partners, Beck Total Office Interiors, IT Value Path, Kimball Office, Stucco Riter, Neuworks Mechanical, F&C Door, Air comfort, Gregory Electric, Ogelsby Designs, Masters Flooring and other individual contributors made donations of either time, materials or money. In addition to a $1,000 donation, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans will sponsor two build days for the team and other supporters.
Other Fort Collins businesses lent a helping hand by providing gift certificates and/or a location for fundraising events.
“These donations are a ‘thank you’ to those organizations that rise up to challenges every day,” Richardson said. “Many companies struggle with hard budgetary decisions today because of the economy. We have an opportunity to plant the seed in our employees and encourage giving outside of what we can do as a company and that’s the ultimate goal -- to watch generosity grow organically.”
Donations were hand-delivered to local non-profit organizations between Friday, April 13 and Monday, April 16, 2012.
