General Mills Recognized as One of the Most Community-Minded Companies in the U.S.
From Minneapolis to Mumbai and many points in between, General Mills philanthropy and community engagement help to nourish lives every day. Since 1954, General Mills has given more than $1 billion to charitable causes in an effort to build strong communities around the world. This commitment to community remains unwavering 60 years later.
Today, General Mills was recognized as one of America’s most community-minded companies in The Civic 50, an annual survey that recognizes companies for their commitment to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business. The Civic 50 survey is coordinated by Points of Light, the largest organization in the world dedicated to volunteer service, in partnership with Bloomberg LP.
Kim Nelson, senior vice president of External Relations at General Mills and president of the General Mills Foundation notes, “For decades, General Mills has been dedicated to building strong communities and nourishing lives around the globe through remarkable philanthropy and exceptional employee engagement. It is a great honor to be recognized in The Civic 50 for our efforts.”
Now in its third year, The Civic 50 survey evaluates companies based on a breadth of criteria including:
· Investment: How extensively and strategically resources are applied to community engagement
· Integration: How a community engagement program supports business interests and integrates into business engagement
· Institutionalization: How a community engagement program supports business interests and integrates into business functions
· Impact: How a company measures the social and business impact of its community engagement program in the US.
General Mills received high marks on the survey in the areas of Integration and Institutionalization, and ranked in the top 10 of all companies surveyed on Investment.
Nourishing Lives, every day
At General Mills, our philanthropy and community engagement efforts tie closely to our core business as well as our company mission of Nourishing Lives. We work in innovative ways with partners locally and around the world to harness our collective impact in key target areas, while engaging employees in volunteerism around the globe.
“We believe we can have the greatest impact where our company’s unique strengths intersect with community needs,” said Nelson.
For this reason, General Mills philanthropic efforts focus on three strategies of alleviating hunger and advancing nutrition wellness; improving education; and strengthening communities.
Through this collective approach, we are making great strides towards building a better tomorrow for our communities.
Some of program highlights include:
Champions for Healthy Kids
Champions for Healthy Kids, launched in 2002, identifies community organizations that have developed innovative, impactful youth nutrition and fitness programs and supports them through grants in partnership with The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation and other nonprofit partners.
To further advance this commitment, the Foundation awarded $1 million, twice that of previous years, to grant recipients.
Box Tops For Education
Box Tops For Education is an industry-leading cause marketing program that empowers consumers to help their local schools earn unrestricted dollars to purchase the things they need. Since the program’s inception in 1996, over a half billion dollars has been dispersed to more than 90,000 schools
What started out as an experiment on cereal boxes in California, Box Tops for Education is now leading the way to help schools earn needed cash for the things they need through the 10-cent Box Tops on some of the most familiar brands in the country, as well as through online eBoxTops and Box Tops Marketplace purchases.
Good Works
General Mills’ Good Works program leverages employees’ on-the job knowledge for the benefit of our communities. Founded in 2009, the Good Works program links nonprofit organizations with General Mills marketing professionals in our headquarters community.
Nearly 200 volunteers have completed more than 35 projects since the program’s inception, including 45 volunteers and seven projects in 2013.
“We take great pride in our collective impact and our progress,” said Nelson. “But we recognize that our commitment to communities cannot begin or end here. There is still much more to be done and we cannot do it alone.”
Learn more about General Mills commitment to communities at GeneralMills.com/Responsibility or in the General Mills Foundation 2014 Report to the Community.
