Notes From Jerome: January, 2020

CSS Charitable Giving for 2019:

Each year we try to allocate 1% of our profits for charitable donations.  We have three criteria to our gifting program:

1. Focus on just a few organizations rather than many, so our gifts are larger and have more impact;
2. Give to organizations in the communities where we work that help those less fortunate and
3. Recognizing Traverse City as the community where CSS was founded 27 years ago and support those things that make Traverse City a unique place to live and work.

As you know, our collective efforts this year produced approximately $1,070,000 in profit before bonuses.  After bonuses were paid, we were left with approximately $900,000 in profit.  Thus, we generated 1% of that figure, or $9,000, for charitable giving.  In 2019, CSS gifted that money as follows:

• Greater Cleveland Food Bank = $2,030
• Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity = $440
• A Better Chicago = $700
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern Michigan = $3,715
• Safe Harbor – Traverse City homeless shelter = $1,000
• Veterans Cup – Traverse City charity = $200
• Northwest Michigan Supports Housing = $150
• Grand Traverse YMCA = $1,000

We should feel good knowing that through our hard work over the course of this year, we were able to provide a total of $9,235 to these worthy organizations.  We also had individual team members donate their time and money to these and other organizations.  Thank you all!  I hope we are able to gift even more in 2020!