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Alcoa Foundation Celebrates 50 Years of Progress in Communities Worldwide; Announces International Social Venture Initiative
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2002--
Anniversary Activities in More than 100 Alcoa Communities Worldwide
Recognize Thousands of Employee Volunteers
As part of a worldwide celebration of its 50th anniversary, Alcoa
Foundation announces a unique international Social Venture Initiative
designed to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of nonprofits
by applying business and entrepreneurial models in their
organizations. The Social Venture Initiative will build on Alcoa
Foundation's history of consistent, committed and innovative giving
strategies to make Alcoa communities better places to work and live.
Concurrently, Alcoans in over 100 communities worldwide joined
today to recognize 50 teams and individuals for volunteer work in
their communities and to inspire greater participation in all global
locations over the upcoming anniversary year. (See list of events
worldwide).
Speaking at an anniversary event at the Alcoa Corporate Center in
Pittsburgh, Alcoa Chairman and CEO Alain Belda said, "We are proud to
celebrate 50 years of putting Alcoa Values into action at the
community level. By helping nonprofits on the path to financial
sustainability and greater community effectiveness, celebrating
employee involvement, and measuring our progress, Alcoa Foundation
will enrich Alcoa communities and bring Alcoa closer to being the best
company in the world."
Investing in Sustainable Nonprofits
Alcoa Foundation has partnered with Washington D.C.-based
Community Wealth Ventures (CWV) to create the Social Venture
Initiative (SVI) to help nonprofits manage increasing needs for their
services and declining available funding. CWV is one of the leading
consulting firms working directly with NGOs and foundations as they
seek to develop and implement earned-income business ventures.
The initiative is designed to help nonprofits generate their own
revenue streams using their existing resources and new entrepreneurial
strategies. It consists of three initial phases:
Launch in 2003 with a forum of international experts in
nonprofit sustainability that will be webcast to nonprofits at
Alcoa locations around the world;
Request for nonprofits to submit proposals that detail their
plans for sustainability; and
Reconvene nonprofit SVI grant recipients to share lessons
learned and mentor other groups of nonprofits in
sustainability.
Celebrating Thousands of Volunteers
A major element of today's events is the recognition of thousands
of Alcoans who have made substantial commitments of their own time to
volunteer in their own communities. Employee engagement has been a key
part of the Foundation's work. In addition, today's celebrations will
honor 50 teams and individual Alcoans who have earned substantial
grants for nonprofits in their communities, by volunteering to provide
hands-on support for these organizations.
According to Alcoa Foundation President Kathleen Buechel, "We've
learned a great deal in our grantmaking in the last 50 years. Over the
last several years, we've taken the approach that our involvement must
be about more than money -- our human capital, energy, and expertise
all greatly enhance the value of our financial contributions and
connect our work more closely to the community." Buechel added, "As we
move ahead, we want to build on what we've begun. The anniversary is
an opportunity to move forward in ways that continue to enrich Alcoa
communities and provide new community investment models for all
locations to share."
The Foundation plans to track progress for outcomes of the SVI and
for employee involvement using a strategy that reflects the methodical
measure-and-report approach taken by Alcoa in its successful effort to
improve workplace safety over the last two decades.
About Alcoa Foundation
Established in 1952, Alcoa Foundation is a global resource that
actively invests in improving the quality of life in more than 26
countries around the world where Alcoa operates. In addition to
community grants addressing local needs, the Foundation provides
global grants focusing on Areas of Excellence, including:
Sustainability; Safety; Healthy Communities; Workforce Development and
Nonprofit Effectiveness.
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