It’s a small world after all
Several years ago, we formalized our charitable giving efforts and formed Plante Moran Cares. Each year, staff rally around a particular cause and give time, treasure, and talent to assist those in need. But that’s not the only way we give back to our communities; we also serve on a variety of nonprofit boards and committees.
For example, I’ve served on the Campaign Committee for United Way of Southeastern Michigan since 2009. It’s an organization that’s close to my heart, and I’m passionate about encouraging local companies to donate to this excellent cause.
Recently, I found another cause that I’m passionate about—serving on the board of a Catholic boys’ camp in Northern Michigan. Now, this was a purely personal decision—not a business development one—so when I arrived at our first meeting, I was surprised to see that many of the board members had some kind of connection to Plante Moran. There were four clients, a former staff member (who left the firm to become a priest), and a former intern who used to live in the “Plante Moran house.” (That’s right—decades ago, before we built our Southfield, Michigan location, the firm owned a parcel of land with a house on it. We used to rent it out to young interns for something like $50/month. Turns out this guy even met his wife there!)
My first reaction was, “Wow—what a small world!” but then I thought, “You know, it’s really not so surprising.” We have this model at the firm that we call the Wheel of Progress, and it goes like this: we invest in good staff who do good work for good clients who pay good fees, which allows us to pay good wages to retain and reinvest in our staff. In short, we work with and for great people—people who, of course, are going to be moved to go out into the communities in which they live, find causes that resonate with them, and do something about them. People who are going to be touched by the good work that they do and want to continue to do more.
What about you? Do you spend time volunteering? What causes are you passionate about?
