We are proud of the achievements and DEI work our clients are doing outside of our partnerships. Here are a few highlights from last week!

ActiveCampaign

• The CEO of ActiveCampaign, Jason VandeBoom, spoke with Forbes in this article about the company’s inspiring journey and success in 2021. 

• ActiveCampaign reached the milestone of 1,000 employees! 

  • Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot, recognized ActiveCampaign for this accomplishment and for being one of the largest technology companies in Chicago in this video. 

• ActiveCampaign is raising awareness for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by matching employee donations to various breast cancer organizations.

Businessolver

• Last week, Businessolver recognized 5 employees who go above and beyond for their clients during Annual Enrollment. 

  • Businessolver highlighted 5 more employees for the AE Recognition Award.

• To recognize Latina Equal Pay Day, Businessolver posted this blog about the pay gap in the workplace. 

CCS Fundraising

• Hiring: CCS is now hiring for multiple positions. 

• CCS hosted the “CCS Executive Learning Series,” an annual professional development series for rising leaders at the firm, which included panelists from Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Canada, Charities Aid Foundation International, the National Committee on U.S. - China Relations, and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

• Episode 2 of Authentically Inclusive: Navigating Bias Across Organizations, focused on how biases show up in organizations and how to navigate those biases through creating space for mission and donor equity.

  • LinkedIn post about the podcast. 

Erikson Institute

• Erikson President Mariana Souto-Manning was the Guest Editor on the Bank Street Occasional Paper Series Issue 46. This issue focuses on how inequities in education have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to use this as an opportunity to reimagine the system to center equity and justice

Feeding America

• Feeding America was named one of Fast Company's Brands That Matter for 2021 for having “an undeniable impact on business and culture.”

Hirewell

• On Nov. 4th, Hirewell is hosting the 5th installment of Hirewell's DEI Speaker Series, "Women In Tech And Recruiting." This event features Lisa Penn Alvarado as Host with Mary Willcock, Pariss Chandler, and Heather Corallo as panelists.

Home Chef

• Home Chef has surpassed $1 billion dollars in annual sales as a result of innovation and expansion into new categories over the past year. Learn more about this expansion in this article. 

Metropolitan Family Services

• MFS is expanding and has transformed the Howard Area Community Center into their new site, Metropolitan Family Services Howard & Evanston Community Center. 

• During the Equal Access to Justice Award Luncheon, Legal Aid Society client, Rochelle, shared her feelings when the court granted her order of protection. Listen to her story in this video. 

• Senator Richard Durbin went to MFS headquarters to meet with the CEO, Ric Estrada, Metropolitan Peace Initiatives Executive Director Vaughn Bryant, and Director of Government Affairs Jessica Rose Wallace.

Northern Illinois Food Bank

• NIFB’s Julie Yurko and Chris Gillette attended Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s Neighborhood Builders program with nonprofit leaders from around the country to explore community development challenges and solutions.

Primera Engineers

• The Primera team virtually joined a ribbon-cutting last week for their Illinois State University Multicultural Center project. This renovation created space on campus dedicated to providing support for students and strengthening the University’s commitment to DEI.

  • Read about what this project means for Primera and their commitment to DEI here. 

• Primera was ranked in Building Design+Construction’s (BD+C) annual Giants 400 report for 2021. They ranked 42 for Engineering/Architecture (EA) firms and 61 for the University Sector Engineering and EA firms! 

• Senior Vice President of Primera, Lourdes Mesa González, is one of Chicago United’s 2021 Business Leaders of Color!

REI

• CEO of REI, Eric Artz, spoke at the Albers Executive Speaker Series at Seattle University to emphasize the importance of a career and work with a purpose.

• REI Co-op’s Path Ahead Ventures offers full-spectrum support to Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and AAPI-owned and -led startups.

Rightpoint

• Tech in Motion has named Rightpoint as a finalist in this year’s Best Tech Enterprise Employer for the 2021 Timmy Awards! Finalists bypass public voting and go straight to the final round to be judged by an expert panel featuring tech leaders from companies such as Paypal, Salesforce, Netflix, and Oracle.

United Way of Metro Chicago

• Chief Community Impact Officer at United Way of Metro Chicago, Dr. Kimberlee Guenther, joined the Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility to moderate the panel discussion for the virtual Neighborhood Exchange “Connecting the Dots: Human Services and Economic Impact.”

  • Watch the recording here. 

• United Way of Metro Chicago’s Neighborhood Network lead agency in West Chicago, WeGo Together for Kids distributed 771 backpacks and school supplies at their Back to School Bash. 

• The Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation honored United Way of Metro Chicago with the Continuing the Legacy of Greatness Award!

Yello

• Last week, WayUp held a webinar on how to make your company’s recruiting process more accessible to disabled candidates.

  • Access the recording here. 

• Women at Yello hosted their 4th annual Pie in the Face Fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness and raised $3,547 in donations to the American Cancer Society!

ZS

• Read about the 3rd annual ZS Cares Day and how ZSers around the world are making an impact on their community through volunteering.