Vermont Foodbank Focuses on Bringing Small and Local Businesses to the Table

Shortly after Ryan Emmons was hired to work in marketing for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, he decided to help out at the Vermont Foodbank in his hometown of Barre. Now, seven years later, he returns to the charity three or four times a year as part of a volunteer program he created at the business, bringing with him about 20 colleagues, who sort food in the charity’s 19,000-square-foot warehouse or chop vegetables on the tables in its commercial kitchen.

Dedicated Help

Mr. Emmons has remained the charity’s liaison at the coffee company, even as the business has grown from about 300 people in 2001 to 1,300 today. Last year alone, the business donated nearly 80,000 pounds of coffee to the Vermont Foodbank, in addition to the volunteer support.

“He’s at the other end of the phone for us all the time,” says Christine Foster, chief development officer at the food bank.

Volunteerism is just one of many ways that the Vermont Foodbank has brought small and medium-size businesses into its orbit. Some companies have chosen to donate food and other products because they see it as a simple way to give. Other businesses want to increase their visibility statewide and appreciate the food bank’s mission.

The number of companies that support the organization has increased by 40 percent since the late 1990s, to about 480. In April, the nonprofit group hired a fund raiser to focus on cultivating relationships with corporations as well as smaller businesses.

Ms. Foster says small businesses have become a bigger priority because she sees them as particularly concerned with helping the neighborhoods where they operate. Indeed, a new survey conducted for The Chronicle found that social-service organizations receive the largest share of dollars from small businesses, and that small-business leaders cite a charity’s local ties as the second-most-influential factor in deciding which groups to support.

The Vermont Foodbank, meanwhile, has found ways to make the partnerships beneficial for businesses. Says Ms. Foster: “We try to provide a good partnership that will enhance their mission and show their customers that they care about the community and are willing to go out of their way to help people in the state.”

Ms. Foster says that her charity recognizes business owners for their giving and keeps them apprised of the group’s work, The Vermont Foodbank’s truck is emblazoned with the logo of Sovernet, a local telecommunications company with 55 employees that raises money for the charity.

The charity also trys to appeal to the competitive spirit of its supporters in business. Each year, the group announces the winnner of its “food fight”: namely, the company whose employees sorted and packaged the most food, on average, per person and per volunteer hour.

Getting Results

Small-business leaders who support the nonprofit group cite its clear mission and its effectiveness as their reasons for choosing to give.

After a Massachusetts businessman purchased Sovernet three years ago, he retained the business’s commitment to giving discounts on telecommunications services to charities but also wanted to forge a deeper relationship with one group.

Several nonprofit organizations made presentations about their work before Sovernet employees, who settled on the food bank.

“We wanted an organization that did meaningful work,” says Judy Eshelman, the company’s director of customer services. “We also wanted an organization that was very efficient, one where our money would make a difference.” Today, Sovernet gives the Vermont Foodbank about $12,000 in discounted phone and Internet services each year.

It also holds an annual fund-raising event, Harvest Walk, which this year raised $10,000 for the charity. Its staff members also volunteer.

Fund-Raising Events

The Vermont Foodbank has also benefited from fund-raising events run by small businesses. In 2002, Harpoon Brewery, which now employs 100 people, approached the charity and said it wanted to hold a bike ride to benefit the nonprofit group.

“We chose the food bank because we felt it was a problem that everyone could relate to,” says Charles Storey, senior vice president of marketing.

The fund-raising event engages about half a dozen other businesses as sponsors each year, and the brewery raises money at grocery stores in advance of the event. The bike ride has brought in more than $200,000 since it began.

Other businesses, including local banks such as Merchants Bank, raise money for the charity by participating in a program to collect donations from customers.

Mr. Storey, of Harpoon Brewery, says the Vermont Foodbank has helped his business attract publicity and sales. “A lot of companies are going to be looking for some value in return,” he says. “The food bank always kept that in mind and wanted it to be a win-win situation.”

Ms. Foster says it’s important to understand a company’s goals and what it wants out of its giving.

While it can be great to develop a “holistic” relationship whereby a business gives products, volunteer time, and cash, she says, some companies may be more interested in writing checks. “We want it to work for the business,” she says.