How a refreshed purpose inspired a movement, generated more than $1M in donations and revitalized our people

Shaping your better tomorrow. Together. Today.

As we embrace this season of giving and reflection, I thought it’d be a great time to discuss a favorite initiative of mine (that became a movement) during my first year as Crowe CEO.

At Crowe, our purpose drives everything we do. With all the volatility around us, the dawn of the “Great Resignation” and the realities presented by remote work, we knew we had to find new ways to connect and live out this purpose – together.

Searching for answers, we turned to our core values. The best way to shape our better tomorrow, we decided, would be to trust our people’s instincts, show them we care by demonstrating what’s important to them is important to us, and model courage with a bold new program designed to support stewardship in our local communities.??

The result was, on its face, pretty straightforward: We gave every employee a “Better Tomorrow Bonus” for themselves in addition to a one-time “Crowe Gives Back Bucks” donation to give to the charity or cause of their choosing.

The results speak for themselves. From mid-July through the end of August, more than 3,500 of our people took part in the program, contributing over $850,000 to more than 2,000 organizations. Adding to the momentum, our partners matched more than $285,000 worth of these donations bringing the total to over $1 million.

But while the numbers are important, the stories we heard and the connections our people made – among one another and in their communities – are even more telling. This campaign became water cooler talk. The beginnings of Zoom calls were no longer dominated by talk of the weather but instead teammates discussed where they were donating their Crowe Gives Back Bucks and why it was special to them.

The #CroweGivesBack hashtag trended more than we could have imagined as people shared their stories on social media. And many of our partners and leaders took a moment to stop and listen to what our people were saying and to connect with them on a different level.

The stories we heard were truly inspirational, and they gave us a new window into our colleagues’ lives. We learned Dustin Cronin donated his bucks to the Wounded Warrior Project in honor of his former regiment. Neeti Kewaliya gave hers to Akshaya Patra to help in its fight to eradicate classroom hunger in her native India. Mary Douglas, who adopted her daughter after fostering her, used her bucks (and volunteer efforts) to support the Isiah 117 House in her community, which provides a loving environment for children awaiting foster care placement. Toni Anderson put her bucks toward the Save Our Sisters Dragon Boat Racing Team in Miami. Toni joined this program, which promotes physical fitness, wellness education and empowerment among breast cancer survivors, following her breast cancer diagnosis.

The Crowe Gives Back Bucks program often took on a life of its own. Maddie Stupinski, a former Girl Scout, used her bucks to support fundraising efforts for the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, on whose behalf she recently ran the New York City Marathon. With the help of her Crowe coworkers, family and friends, Maddie ultimately raised more than $7,700 and completed the race in under four hours!

Watching this initiative transform into a movement, I have been reminded of just how important it is to truly listen to our people, to trust and empower them to make a difference in their own communities, and to use these glimpses into their lives as an opportunity to deepen connections and enhance our firm’s culture.

The Crowe Gives Back Bucks program continues to pay dividends, having lit the spark for people to find new ways to get involved and give back their time, but we know there’s so much more to be done. Looking ahead to 2022, I couldn’t be more excited to build on this momentum and find new and creative ways for Crowe to shape better tomorrows. Together. Today. ?

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