Section 4:

Community Participation & Accountability

COMMUNITY-BASED ACTIVITIES
Ben & Jerry’s uses social action and awareness to promote child and family issues, environmentalism, small-scale agriculture, human rights and economic justice. We also support organizations that act on these issues. Since going public in 1985, Ben & Jerry’s has donated 7.5% of its yearly pre-tax profits. Since 1994, these monies have been administered through an employee-led philanthropy system which funds grants through four channels:

• The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation
• Community Action Teams (CATs), one at each of our five
• Vermont sites
  
• Corporate Giving
  
• Employee Matching Gift Program

THE FOUNDATION
The mission of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation is to support and contribute to progressive social change in the United States. By progressive social change we mean efforts to change the underlying conditions that create social problems such as racism, sexism, economic disparity and environmental destruction.

Since 1994, a nine-member grant-making committee, consisting of employees representing Ben & Jerry’s five Vermont sites, has researched applications and made funding decisions subject to ratification by the Foundation Board of Trustees. About half of the company’s philanthropic dollars go to the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation to fund nonprofit grass-roots organizations across the United States. In 1999 the Foundation gave away a total of $283,950 in 45 grants. The average grant was approximately $6,310. The smallest grant was $1,000 and the largest grant was $10,000.

Examples of grants awarded in 1999:

• Farm Labor Research Project - Solomon, NC ($5,000) FLRP works to empower migrant farm workers to organize for better wages and working conditions.
• Prairie Rivers Network - Eugene, OR ($1,000) The Center offers low-cost organizing and technical assistance to citizens working on waterways and other environmental issues.
  
• Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition - Huntington, WV ($10,000) OVEC has been taking the lead in organizing broad-based opposition to the practice of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal-mining.
  
• Mothers On The Move - Bronx, NY ($10,000) MOM is a neighborhood organization founded in 1992 by a group of mothers concerned about failing public schools; the organization’s concerns have since extended to the areas of public safety, transportation and tenant-organizing.
• Safer Pest Control Project - Chicago, IL ($8,000) SPCP promotes Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices using a variety of strategies: outreach, advocacy, technical assistance and development of model programs.
  
  

Applying for a Foundation grant involves a two-step process: applicants must first submit a Letter of Interest to be reviewed by the Foundation Director and at least one committee member; after review, selected applicants are then invited to submit full proposals. On average the Foundation receives over 400 Letters of Interest per cycle. Based on their initial letters, approximately 40 organizations are invited to submit a full proposal each cycle.

COMMUNITY ACTION TEAMS
Each company and administrative site in Vermont has an employee Community Action Team (CAT), which awards small local community service grants (under $1,000) and organizes community service projects. Following are the projects that the CATs embarked upon in 1999:

• Springfield CAT members worked with senior citizens and individuals with disabilities; the team also provided grants to community health services, Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, and an area chapter of Vermont’s Council on Aging.
  
• The Waterbury CAT completed several construction projects in the Central Vermont area, including a storm-damage repair project at a Boy Scout camp and an improvement project at a city playground. Grant recipients included the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Town of Waterbury Public Library, along with several area churches and food shelves.
  
• The St. Albans CAT held special Ben & Jerry’s truckload sales to benefit several area organizations & community fundraisers. In addition the team provided assistance to elderly residents around the county, helping with grounds maintenance & home-winterizing activities during Fall ’99.
  
• The Central Support CAT worked with the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department to help clean up beaches, paint buildings and trim trees. Site volunteers also completed painting & grounds maintenance projects at area YMCA camps and at a municipal park’s skating rink.
  
• The Distribution Center focused on working at elderly couples’ homes trimming trees, stacking wood and planting flowers. They also painted and insulated the homes, resealed windows and made other minor upgrades.