2014 Spirit of North Carolina Campaigning for Excellence Company/Organization Name Syngenta Application Form (www.unitedwaync.org) Address 410 Swing Rd. Name of Person Completing this Application Shelley Olds Name of Sponsoring United Way of Greater Greensboro United Way United Way Contact for Questions Seth L. Steele Phone 336.632.7831 Phone 336.378.5037 City/State Greensboro Zip 27409 E-mail shelley.olds@syngenta.com Metro Size 1A E-mail seth.steele@unitedwaygso.org Does the company know a Spirit Application has been submitted on their behalf? Yes No STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE Below is a checklist of the components of the application. Please complete each standard, in addition to the Organizational Overview, with as much detail as possible. Each Standard is worth up to five (5) points unless designated with an asterisk (*). Designated Standards are worth up to ten (10) points. ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED USING THIS FORM and COMPLETED AS IS! Please do not add borders, headings, color, or make any changes to this form. Application Standards Checklist 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Volunteer Culture Partnership with Community CEO/Senior Leadership Involvement and Giving Corporate or Foundation Contributions & Other Non-traditional and In-kind Gifts Employee Campaign Coordination, Incentive and Recognition Overall Per Capita Gift Participation Level Heads up: two new items! Please do not add pictures to the Standards Text Box. Instead, attach separate page with pictures labeling the corresponding Standard. (Attachment 1) You may also submit a DVD or attach a Video for viewing by the Selection Committee. The video should not exceed 3 minutes. Please send any DVDs to Anita Barker, 875 Walnut Street, Suite 150B, Cary, NC 27511. DVD s must arrive on or before January 20, 2015.
AWARD CATEGORIES Organization Employee Size Check the appropriate box for this application submission. Type of Organization Check the appropriate box for this application submission. Up to 50 employees 51 100 employees 101-200 employees 201-500 employees 501-1000 employees 1001-1500 employees 1501-2500 employees 2501-5000 employees 5001 + employees Financial/Banking Institutions Manufacturing Business Campaign City/ County Municipality Higher Education School Campaigns Hospital/ Health System Retail Not-for-Profit Agency - 501(C)3 Professional Services (small business,partnerships,llc, accounting, architect, engineering firm, attorneys, etc.) To certify the contents of this application, the signature of the nominating United Way CEO or his/her direct designee must be obtained. An email from the United Way may accompany the application submission stating that it has been reviewed and approved if electronic signature is not available. United Way CEO/Designee Name: Seth L. Steele Email: seth.steele@unitedwaygso.org
Organizational Overview This information will be used during the Awards Ceremony for winning companies. Describe the mission, vision and philanthropic culture of your organization: Syngenta has service at the heart of our organization. Each day, Syngenta employees work tirelessly to help deliver our products to our customers, America s farmers, with the ambition to provide quality science to ensure fruitful crops which help feed a nation and a world. T hese same employees dedicate their time to volunteer in our local communities with the aim to provide human resources and capital for those in need. T hey do this in areas of their own calling, but with the support of Syngenta in the areas of agricultural education, nutrition and hunger relief and water and land conservation. Whether it is serving on local boards, mentoring youth or helping to pack meals for the hungry, Syngenta and its employees have a culture of giving back to their communities. Describe ONE unique and meaningful event, activity, or communication that ignited the success of your campaign: (This will be shared at the Awards Banquet if selected as a winner) Syngenta s Greensboro campaign kicked off with an event that brought over 500 employees together in service to halt hunger. Working with ST OP HUNGER NOW, an international hunger relief agency, employees gathered to package 30,000 meals of rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and vitamin-fortified seasoning for delivery to starving communities in Haiti. T he event dovetailed perfectly with many of the commitments of the Syngenta Good Growth Plan, an ambitious corporate undertaking to address the challenges we face as a global community to feed a growing world population with less resources. As part of the event, employees also donated non-perishable food items for delivery to two Greensboro United Way agencies: T riad Health Project and the Salvation Army. In a note from the T riad Health Project (T HP), Syngenta employees provided almost 5600 cans of food, such a generous donation that it will literally take us a few days to sort through this amazing bounty and distribute it across our three locations. (letter from Ken Keeton, Director of Development and Community Involvement dated September 26, 2014). T he donation to the Salvation Army was so large that volunteers had to make multiple trips to pick up all of the food. List 3 bullet-points highlighting numeric campaign successes: (This will be shared at the Awards Banquet if selected as a winner) (i.e., dollars raised, % increase over previous year, # of leadership givers, etc.) A total % increase in participation of 19% over the 2013 campaign. A 25% increase in the total number of donors to 421. An increase in our special events giving by 44%, raising $4,448.79 total.
Standard 1 - Volunteer Culture Describe how volunteerism fits into the organization s philanthropic mission. Include specific volunteer activities (listing recipient organizations) and, if possible, provide number of employees, volunteer hours and dollar value of volunteer participation. (Estimated value of volunteer time for 2013 is $22.55 per hour) Include organizational incentives for participating in community volunteer activities. Up to 5 points Syngenta empowers its employees to give back locally in the community. The United Way campaign this year was a full-scale effort that took over four months of planning and execution. In addition to the many hours (estimated to be ~500 man hours) spent on the campaign, our employees are model volunteers in the community. Employee input drives where Syngenta places our donations and sponsorships through initiatives. Additionally, each employee is provided with monthly paid volunteer hours to give back to the community. Examples of volunteerism include: Women s Leadership: Syngenta is an active participation in the United Way of Greater Greensboro Women s Leadership (WL) Engagement Group. Our local Community Engagement Lead Shelley Olds has taken the WL model and injected it across the entire Syngenta North America footprint. Our Women Leaders contribute time, talent, and treasure to their local communities. In Greensboro alone, over 75 women have enlisted in the group. Mentoring Matters: Syngenta employees like Rahshek Ellis and Alecia Walker are mentors to children in our local schools, providing a role model and helping hand to our most vulnerable students. Stop Hunger Now: During this year s campaign, Syngenta partnered with Stop Hunger Now, a hunger relief agency, to collect food and pack hunger kits. Over 500 Syngenta employees participated in this event through several shifts, packing a total of 30,000 kits. (See attachment 1 Standard 1 for photos). In addition over 5,500 cans of food were donated by employees and distributed to two Greensboro United Way member agencies. Volunteers in Action (Volunteers in Action): 2014 volunteer activities included: o 300 Valentine cards were sent to Veterans and active military. o Various people volunteered to sort eggs four different times throughout the year at Second Harvest Food Bank. o VIA raised enough money to send several children to camp this summer with our annual book fair (Children s Home Society) o Nursing Home residents at Camden Place enjoyed a day at the races as employees and their families raced on hobby horses. o Numerous school supplies were donated to the Guildford County Teacher Supply Warehouse, supplying teachers needed school materials. o Employees donated their time and energy in helping to beautiful the garden at Kid s Path, a facility dedicated to meeting the needs of children who are dealing with death and dying. o In support of Syngenta ambition of feeding the world, donations were made to various food banks including Salvation Army, Open Door Ministries, and Out of the Garden Project. o A group of carolers brightened the day of residents of Camden Place Nursing home. o Christmas gifts were purchased for nine residents of Camden Place Nursing home, with no family. o Fifty Salvation Army Angels were adopted and numerous stockings filled. o Eighteen employees participated in ringing a Salvation Army bell over a two-day period. o Greensboro Urban Ministry Crop Hunger Walk: This year was a record year for Syngenta participation in the Crop Hunger Walk. Through these and many other acts of volunteerism, we have been able to provide the community with 1,800 hours of volunteerism, worth an estimated $41,000 to our community partners.
Standard 2 Partnership with community to raise awareness of needs and foster a spirit of giving Describe the organization s philanthropic relationship with the community. Document specific rallies, events, or programs which generate enthusiasm for community involvement and support. Unique partnership and awareness activities should be highlighted such as specialized meetings, tours, speakers and fairs. Activities which have positive results for year-round engagement should be cited as well. Up to 5 points At Syngenta we see ourselves as stewards to our community. We support many organizations that do good work through volunteerism and our community grants. We foster giving and awareness the most through our annual United Way campaign. Our activities focus not just on giving, but awareness of needs in Greater Greensboro, particularly those that align with our corporate focus such as addressing hunger. We promote volunteerism, and we make sure that once employees are aware of volunteer opportunities, they then have an opportunity to engage with agencies. Our 2014 campaign events included: Agency Tour: Our core team leadership visit United Way, Hospice & Palliative Care, and Bell House to learn more about impact in our community. Cornerstone Leadership Recruiting Breakfast: An event held for new employees and midlevel managers to build awareness about the United Way, Cornerstone leadership and Syngenta s own Step Into Leadership enhanced giving opportunities. Block Party: The cornerstone event of Syngenta s 2014 Building Communities, Living United campaign, a site-wide party was held on our spacious lawn, full of fun games, food trucks, music, and United Way agency tables. Employees gathered to share lunch and fellowship while they participated in a corn hole tournament and purchased tickets to dunk senior members of Syngenta s executive team. Our health services team was also administering flu vaccines in this more relaxed setting. The event served as a fun way to promote community within Syngenta while employees could learn more about the various United Way agencies. Stop Hunger Now Kit Packing: Teamed up with Stop Hunger Now to pack food kits. Over 500 our Greensboro campus employees participated in this event, packaging 10,000 meals for relief agencies and donating almost 5600 cans of food for two Greensboro United Way agencies. Campaign Finale: As part a long-standing Syngenta tradition, we once again held a talent show that showcased the incredible creativity, humor and talent of our employees. This event capped off the full week of campaign events. Photos of these events are included in attachment 1 Standard 2.
Standard 3 - CEO/Senior Leadership Involvement and Giving Given that Leadership participation is a Best Practice item: Describe how senior leadership (CEO/Direct reports) hosts, manages, organizes, participates in, and influences philanthropy, community support, and campaign activities. Describe how company leadership in general promotes a culture of giving. Specific events that are sponsored (and led) by the leadership team should be noted. Complete the leadership giving table below. Up to 10 points* A gift of $1,000 or more is considered a leadership gift. Vern Hawkins, Regional Director, is a true believer in United Way s work in our community. Our campaign activities start when he annually meets with the President of the United Way of Greater Greensboro. Vern also directs a significant corporate gift to the United Way each year, which has held steady despite a tightening of corporate resources for community support. This year Vern took a hands-on approach and was visible at every event held during our campaign. This included our meal-packing kick-off, the Cornerstone recruitment breakfast, the block party (where he volunteered to be dunked in the dunking booth), and the campaign finale. We feel that the Cornerstone recruitment breakfast was a main driver in the generous increase in leadership giving we saw this year. At the event, both Vern and our local United Way President Michelle Gethers-Clark spoke on the work of United Way and how Syngenta can team up with United Way to create change in our community. Thanks to these activities, our leadership giving increased 7%, even as our organization faces several retirements among our leadership givers. Year Total Number of Givers Number of Leadership Givers % of Leadership Givers Percent Change 2014 421 105 24.7% +7.14% 2013 337 98 29.1% -15.52% 2012 408 116 UW % of Leadership Givers - 2014 number of leadership givers divided by the 2014 total number of givers UW Leadership Givers % Change - 2014 number of leadership givers minus the 2013 number of leadership givers divided by 2013 number Use a plus or minus sign to show a positive or negative % change.
Standard 4 - Corporate or Foundation Contributions and Other Non-traditional and In-kind Gifts/Support State where management places the United Way Campaign within its prioritization of activities. List specific sponsorships, resources, materials, loaned executives, advertisements, videos (YouTube as an example). List specific social media activities/events/activities. Please complete the Corporate Gift table below. Up to 5 points. This year Syngenta staged its comeback year with a full flurry of activities surrounding United Way. This started at the top, with our local executive Vern Hawkins. Although Syngenta supports many community organizations throughout the year through our community grants and small fundraisers, United Way has been the main charitable vehicle for our employees since our founding in 2000 through the merger of Novartis and AstraZeneca s Agribusiness units. The local Syngenta office in Greensboro prioritizes United Way year-round through generous time allocation of our employees. Shelley Olds, Community Engagement Lead, and many of our employees on the Greensboro campus take time to plan the United Way campaign and promote United Way engagement year-round. Shelley currently serves on the United Way of Greater Greensboro Campaign Cabinet, and Senior Manager Dan Burdett serves on their Board of Directors. In terms of financial resources, Syngenta devoted a significant corporate budget to pay for donor incentives, and pay for the many events we held throughout the campaign. Syngenta also produced a campaign video in house this year using the resources of our communications team. Syngenta is proud to provide a substantial corporate gift to United Way each year for the betterment of the community our employees live and work in. Syngenta provided a corporate gift of $75,500, the same total as 2013. We also partner with our onsite vendor Adecco who runs a parallel campaign. With a gift from Adecco, this year we rounded out our total corporate gift to $77,680. Outside of our corporate gift, we typically provide sponsorships to key United Way of Greater Greensboro events throughout the year. During the 2014 campaign, we were able to provide $3,200 in sponsorships for the United Way Women in Philanthropy Luncheon, African American Leadership Speaker Series Event, and the Handbags for Hope event. Year Corporate Gift Percent Change 2014 $77,680-0.41% 2013 $78,000 +4% 2012 $75,000 Percentage change example: 2014 minus 2013 divided by 2013. Use a plus or minus sign to show a positive or negative % change.
Standard 5 Employee campaign coordination, incentive and recognition Describe the work of the campaign coordinator and/or committee and list specific activities, decisions and events. Share specific incentives used in the campaign and how employees were recognized within the workforce for their contributions. Up to 5 points Syngenta takes a comprehensive project management approach to run our campaign efficiently. The campaign this year began with the naming of our campaign chairs, Steve Berreth and Jackie Haley, both from our legal department. Jackie, along with campaign veterans from our communications department Shelley Olds and Rahshek Ellis, as well as United Way board member and Syngenta employee Dan Burdett, toured United Way and partner agencies in June. This tour was designed with the help of United Way to acquaint our new campaign leaders with the impact United Way has in our community, and included United Way headquarters, Hospice & Palliative Care, and Bell House. From there, the campaign co-chairs cultivated a campaign core team committee from across our campus to assist in brainstorming and execution of the campaign. This team met on a weekly basis in August and September. We realize that incentives are a best practice to encourage employee giving, and therefore used the following incentives provided by Syngenta: Current and prospective leadership donors were provided with a United Way water bottle and lunch bag during our Cornerstone Recruiting Breakfast. Gift cards and lunches were provided to business teams having the highest participation in the Kick-Off meal packing and food drive event. Campaign team members solicited Syngenta vendors and local businesses for prize donations. By donating early, employees became eligible for daily prize drawings. Delta Airlines, a Syngenta vendor, generously donated two first class round-trip airline tickets to the campaign prize pool. The campaign promoted these tickets to employees as a prize for early giving. Charles Flippin, a senior manager and former United Way campaign lead at Syngenta, and a team of 3 employees cooked over 240 pork tenderloins to sell to employees. Over 220 tenderloins were sold, and the remainder was donated to Greensboro Urban Ministries for meals in the community. (Syngenta purchased the pork, and all proceeds went to the United Way, raising over $2200 in event dollars.) The campaign conducted a silent auction for four year-long reserved parking spaces. Over $740 was raised in this auction. Additionally, employees paid to enter a drawing for quarterly reserved parking. This contest raised nearly $1000. Two days before the campaign ended, Syngenta s field sales marketing team donated a branded Yeti cooler from a marketing campaign. The United Way Campaign team ran a last - minute auction, raising over $400 dollars from this contest.
Standard 6 - Overall Per Capita Gift Describe what employee, leadership, workplace, or community issues made a difference this year in per capita giving by employees. (Note: If campaign results increased (or decreased) by a measurable amount, it is expected that those changes were driven by some recognizable improvement or change. Example: Instituted specific goals by department for the first time equal to the corporate campaign objective which generated enthusiastic and competitive environment. Complete the employee giving and per capita giving table below. Up to 10 points* This year Syngenta s core campaign team decided that our United Way campaign had been in hibernation for several years and that this was the year to launch a campaign to increase employee engagement. Our campaign started with setting our goal for employee giving of $240,000, an audacious increase from the prior year. Our efforts paid off, as our total employee giving increased 4% from 2013. This increase was a fantastic result, as we recently had multiple leadership donors and long-time givers retiree from the company in the middle of the campaign. Syngenta solicits donations from these retirees, and as the campaign year continues until April, we expect to receive additional gifts that will allow us to move closer to our goal. Syngenta employees also participated in our many special event fundraisers that were able to raise $4,448.79 in additional funds not included in the employee giving below. This was a 44% increase in special event fundraising from 2013, and included: Pork Tenderloin Sales: cooked over 240 pork tenderloins to sell to employees, raising over $2000. Parking Spaces: reserved spaces raised $740 and quarterly space drawings raised nearly $1000. Yeti Cooler Drawing: this last-minute initiative raised over $400 in three days. Dunking Booth: employees paid over $700 for chances to dunk Syngenta s senior management. Year 2014 2013 2012 Total Employee Giving Amount $227,071.37 $218,265.68 $266,721.81 Percent Change Total No. of Full-time Employees Employee Per Capita Percent Change +4.03% 1,773 $128.07-0.9% -18.17% 1,689 $129.23-23.55% $169.03 Percentage change example: 2014 minus 2013 divided by 2013. Per Capita Gift: Total Employee giving Amount divided by the Total Number of Employees Use a plus or minus sign to show a positive or negative % change.
Standard 7 Participation Level It is important that each employee have an opportunity to support their community through participation in the United Way campaign. How does the company make an effort to ensure all employees have an opportunity to participate? (List specific items) Does the company provide a new hires program to provide employees an immediate opportunity to give? (List specific initiatives) Describe any outreach efforts for retirees to give back to the community through United Way participation. Complete the employee giving and participation table below. Up to 10 points* Syngenta is proud to have been one of the first companies to use the epledge online pledging tool with United Way of Greater Greensboro for employee giving. Our Greensboro campus includes 750+ employees who are usually at the office, and an additional 800+ who work in the field. Additionally, we solicited employees through our vendor partner Adecco as well as retirees. Using epledge allowed us to reach these field workers with ease, increasing participation this year. We also took a more hands on approach in 2014, with direct solicitation to our leadership donors. Our retirees are tracked before each campaign starts, and receive a United Way packet with information and a pledge form. All of these efforts led to a significant increase in our participation, with a 19% increase in total participation. Year Total Number of Employees Percent Change Total Number of Givers Percent Change Percent Participation 2014 1,773 +4.97% 421 +24.93% 23.75% 2013 1,689 +7.03% 337-17.4% 19.95% 2012 1,578 408 25.86% Employee % change - 2014 number of employees minus 2013 number of employees divided by 2013 number Givers % Change 2014 number of givers minus 2013 number of givers divided by the 2013 number
Attachment 1 Pictures Standard 1: United Way Board Member and Syngenta Senior Manager Dan Burdett displaying a Stop Hunger Now meal kit. Syngenta Employees packing over 30,000 meal kits. Standard 2: Employees taking aim at managers in the dunking booth. A packed house at our talent show finale.