When officials with Hannis T. Bourgeios started brainstorming ways to mark the accounting firm’s 100th anniversary, they discussed a number of ideas — including a company bus trip to Disneyworld.
But the Baton Rouge-based business ended up marking its centennial in a way they hope will have an impact across Louisiana for years to come.
The company established The 1924 Fund, an employee-directed endowment that will make annual donations to nonprofit organizations that benefit the communities HTB operates in — Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Denham Springs, Hammond and Alexandria.
“Rather than make one big splash, we want to live on in the future,” said Jay Montalbano, managing partner of HTB, which has more than 170 employees.
The plan is to make donations focused on three areas: family support, culture and education, because those areas connect to the values of HTB, Montalbano said.
An investment committee made up of employees from all of HTBs offices has been established. That committee will look through all of the applications for donations and decide how to allocate the money. Applications for donations can be submitted through the fund’s landing page or by HTB employees.
The goal is to make the first donations in time for the 2025 holiday season, Montalbano said.
Based on research done by the company, it’s “fairly unique” for a business the size of HTB to set up an employee endowed fund, he said.
Workplace giving programs are growing in popularity. The Blackbaud Giving Fund, a donor-advised fund, said more than $5 billion was donated through workplace giving programs in 2023. Benevity, a Canadian firm that works with employee giving from big businesses such as Nike, UPS, Microsoft and Adobe, said the amount of donations it processed in 2023 was up 14% and the company is on track to see another double-digit percentage leap in 2024.
A survey by Fidelity Charitable, the giving arm of the giant investing firm Fidelity, found that 59% of employees feel that it’s important their company supports the communities in which it operates in. And workplace giving programs are associated with companies with higher employee satisfaction and the feeling that their employer’s values align with their personal values. That’s of high importance to Millennial and Gen Z workers.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation will manage the fund’s investments and help provide guidance on donations, because of the network of nonprofits it works with. For example, if HTB wants to make a donation focused on financial literacy, BRAF could provide a list of groups devoted to that cause, Montalbano said.
The firm set an initial goal of raising $100,000 for the 1924 Fund, with every employee and partner making a donation. HTB exceeded that total and got more than 100% of employees making donations, thanks to contributions from some interns and retirees, said Claire Harrell, firm operations manager.
The company hasn’t decided how much money will be distributed to charities in the first year, or how many organizations will receive funding. Because HTB is an accounting firm, Montalbano joked that the company looked at allocating money based on the company’s presence in each city. But ultimately, the decision was made to give the committee discretion over the distribution of donations.
“It’s going to be driven by the makeup of the committee and what’s going on,” Montalbano said. “Maybe one of the communities will be impacted by something that happens during the year.”
The amount of donations and what charities receive money will be driven in future years by the membership of the committee and how much money gets donated. The plan is to change members annually.
“Our group met a few weeks ago to brainstorm ideas to further grow the fund starting next year,” Montalbano said. “We want to put even more money in.”