Earlier this year, Forbes published an article that said employees who are engaged produce better work and are more committed to the organization, and that companies that engage their employees outperform by 200 percent those organizations that do not. One of the best ways to engage employees and demonstrate shared values is through philanthropy. Giving Tuesday 2014 proved to be one of the best employee engagement opportunities for RLJ Lodging Trust.
More than 75 percent of our sixty employees took part in our first Giving Tuesday initiative. We proudly raised $1,800 for Habitat for Humanity – Metro Maryland. Our efforts joined the more than 10,000 participating Giving Tuesday corporate partners who contributed to this year’s giving efforts, totaling more than $46 million (as indicated in early reports). As a company, we are not strangers to corporate philanthropy. In fact, RLJ Lodging Trust, a self-advised, publicly-traded real estate investment trust comprised of 150 hotel properties throughout the United States, in 2014 donated just over $329,000 to non-profits throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area and beyond, generally focusing on those working with low-income, disadvantaged, or disabled young people. These organizations include but are not limited to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, Big Brothers Big Sisters – National Capital Area, Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities (Bridges), A Better Chance, The Harlem School of the Arts, Cornell University, and Reach Incorporated. However, it was the opportunity to include our associates in the process of giving that made Giving Tuesday so attractive to us.
Part of our Giving Tuesday initiative included “Jeans for a Cause.” The donation-based employee incentive required participating employees to donate twenty dollars for the opportunity to wear business casual jeans that week. RLJ Lodging Trust then matched the amount raised by employees in order to make one large donation to Habitat for Humanity - Metro Maryland. Our contribution to Habitat for Humanity - Metro Maryland was our way of kicking off our 2015 partnership with the solution-based homeownership nonprofit. Among other 2015 activities, employees will lead several days of service onsite at a local home build.
In addition to Jeans for a Cause, we took advantage of Giving Tuesday by sharing with our employees ways that the company has been involved with giving, as suggested in the online Giving Tuesday toolkit. During our bi-annual company meeting, we highlighted “Did You Know” facts that showcased our four pillars of giving: mentoring, philanthropy, employee giving (through matching), and community engagement. Employees were not only appreciative of this information, but also excited to learn how committed we are to giving back.
Giving Tuesday proved to be a great day for RLJ Lodging Trust. Not only did we support a very important non-profit, but we were also able to enrich our associates’ work lives by exhibiting our shared philanthropic values. Giving Tuesday highlighted the importance of involving employees in our giving strategies and renewed our commitment to giving back as a corporate family.
Anita Cooke Wells is Vice President, Administration and Corporate Secretary for RLJ Lodging Trust. Anita is responsible for human resources management, investment fund legal and governance compliance, and strategic planning at RLJ Lodging Trust. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ebonie Johnson Cooper is Executive Assistant to the EVP & CFO for RLJ Lodging Trust. Ebonie received her M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication from New York University, and her B.S. in Business Administration from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.
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What Giving Tuesday Did for Us: A Story of Renewed Corporate Philanthropy
December 22, 2014
Earlier this year, Forbes published an article that said employees who are engaged produce better work and are more committed to the organization, and that companies that engage their employees outperform by 200 percent those organizations that do not. One of the best ways to engage employees and demonstrate shared values is through philanthropy. Giving Tuesday 2014 proved to be one of the best employee engagement opportunities for RLJ Lodging Trust.
More than 75 percent of our sixty employees took part in our first Giving Tuesday initiative. We proudly raised $1,800 for Habitat for Humanity – Metro Maryland. Our efforts joined the more than 10,000 participating Giving Tuesday corporate partners who contributed to this year’s giving efforts, totaling more than $46 million (as indicated in early reports). As a company, we are not strangers to corporate philanthropy. In fact, RLJ Lodging Trust, a self-advised, publicly-traded real estate investment trust comprised of 150 hotel properties throughout the United States, in 2014 donated just over $329,000 to non-profits throughout the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area and beyond, generally focusing on those working with low-income, disadvantaged, or disabled young people. These organizations include but are not limited to Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, Big Brothers Big Sisters – National Capital Area, Washington Tennis & Education Foundation, Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities (Bridges), A Better Chance, The Harlem School of the Arts, Cornell University, and Reach Incorporated. However, it was the opportunity to include our associates in the process of giving that made Giving Tuesday so attractive to us.
Part of our Giving Tuesday initiative included “Jeans for a Cause.” The donation-based employee incentive required participating employees to donate twenty dollars for the opportunity to wear business casual jeans that week. RLJ Lodging Trust then matched the amount raised by employees in order to make one large donation to Habitat for Humanity - Metro Maryland. Our contribution to Habitat for Humanity - Metro Maryland was our way of kicking off our 2015 partnership with the solution-based homeownership nonprofit. Among other 2015 activities, employees will lead several days of service onsite at a local home build.
In addition to Jeans for a Cause, we took advantage of Giving Tuesday by sharing with our employees ways that the company has been involved with giving, as suggested in the online Giving Tuesday toolkit. During our bi-annual company meeting, we highlighted “Did You Know” facts that showcased our four pillars of giving: mentoring, philanthropy, employee giving (through matching), and community engagement. Employees were not only appreciative of this information, but also excited to learn how committed we are to giving back.
Giving Tuesday proved to be a great day for RLJ Lodging Trust. Not only did we support a very important non-profit, but we were also able to enrich our associates’ work lives by exhibiting our shared philanthropic values. Giving Tuesday highlighted the importance of involving employees in our giving strategies and renewed our commitment to giving back as a corporate family.
Anita Cooke Wells is Vice President, Administration and Corporate Secretary for RLJ Lodging Trust. Anita is responsible for human resources management, investment fund legal and governance compliance, and strategic planning at RLJ Lodging Trust. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, and her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Ebonie Johnson Cooper is Executive Assistant to the EVP & CFO for RLJ Lodging Trust. Ebonie received her M.S. in Public Relations and Corporate Communication from New York University, and her B.S. in Business Administration from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.
