Ways to Give Back

We try to function as though we live next door to everybody in our community. We're not reinventing banking we're uninventing it. We make smaller loans, but they have a high community impact. And we're outperforming other banks.

David Berge's Socially Responsible Banking Fund enables customers to earmark deposits for loans that will make a direct impact on the community. Depositors have placed $155 million into the fund since its inception.

Judy Wicks
Founder and President
White Dog Cafe
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
judy@whitedog.com

A while ago I spoke at a seminar on philanthropy. The speaker before me, a Philadelphia city councilman, offered this advice: "Before you can do good, you must do well." I disagree by doing good, we can also do well.

You can't separate your social goals from your business. Figure out what turns you on, and then design part of your work around it. When I started the White Dog Cafe, I was trying to make a living. But I also realized that restaurants can build communities: when people gather at our place, they can do more than just eat. Social change isn't about heroic gestures. It happens gradually and with the help of many people.

Judy Wicks's White Dog Cafe is a major center of community involvement in Philadelphia. In 1995 Wicks won a Business Enterprise Trust award for creative leadership in combining business management with social vision.

Mario Morino
Founder
The Morino Institute
Reston, Virginia
mmorino@morino.org

At age 49 I "retired" from business. Since then I've pursued a second career: trying to make long-term, concrete differences in people's lives. Our institute's biggest challenge is to leverage our actions using resources that might seem small when compared with those of other foundations. We don't donate money we donate people and their expertise. Starting the institute was like starting any business endeavor, and I learned quite a bit.

Unfocus your focus. Learn from people outside the corporate world. With no structured goal, my partner and I spent a year talking to more than 700 people. We thumbed through our Rolodexes and even scanned the phone book. On a typical day we would meet with a congressman, a nonprofit director, a clergyman, a company president, and a community services representative. We had nothing to sell we just wanted advice. This "unfocus" helped us focus our strategy and mission.

Support leaders, not programs. To make a difference, find people who already know how to make a difference. We work with people who know how to collaborate, cooperate, and leverage their own assets. We're not interested in taking control; we're interested in advising and providing contacts.

Blend business and personal skills. Your business sense can help you determine whether a project is technically or financially feasible. But your personal involvement can help you judge whether the right person is behind the project.

I've never been a fan of simple check-writing. Contributing your business skills, your perspective, and a little sweat is much more valuable and, yes, gratifying.

Mario Morino cofounded Legent Corp., one of the largest software companies in the world. It was acquired by Computer Associates International in 1995 for $1.7 billion.

Ronnie Williams
Founder and President
Camelot Career College
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
ccareerc@aol.com

I spent more than a decade at Exxon, rising to become an operations supervisor in a plastics plant. I learned a lot as I moved up the ladder; I'd come a long way. I was one of six children born to a single mother on government assistance. And I wanted to give back. So I started a volunteer service to teach young people "success" techniques.

But I realized that something deeper was missing: basic job and career skills. In 1986 I received a $47,000 grant to train 20 people. The next year I left Exxon to devote myself full-time to what became Camelot Career College. Since then we've placed thousands of people in the job market. Our current enrollment is 400 students85% of them women and we have a staff of 70.

Small steps can achieve big results. When you involve others, they become inspired. Their inspiration doubles back on you, and the energy just starts to grow.

Ronnie Williams is a member of the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce and of the Mt. Zion Men Mentoring Program.

Gary Stewart
Senior Vice President of A&R
Rhino Records Inc.
Los Angeles, California
gary_stewart@rhino.com

I'd worked for more than five years to make social responsibility a part of our company. Then the 1992 Los Angeles riots changed our approach to community service.