April 27, 2022
Post Consumer Brands Team Members Manage and Support the Better Together Foundation
The Better Together Employee Foundation is an independent organization made possible by the support of Post employees and retirees, the Better Together Employee Foundation serves the communities where we live and work by providing grants to provide monetary support to families facing hardships. The foundation is funded by employee contributions, donations, and fundraisers.
The Foundation held its annual meeting on Friday, March 24, to review 2021 giving. President Patty Tiede, an IT team member at the Lakeville, Minn. Corporate office, led the foundation as committee chair in 2021.
Post Consumer Brands provides funding to cover the administrative costs of the foundation, including things like insurance, supplies, and postage. 2021 marked the 25th anniversary of the foundation. Since the foundation was established in 1996, it has distributed more than $2.68 million through charitable giving and grants. Post team members nominate non-profits and individuals facing hardships to receive funds.
In 2021, the foundation raised nearly $160,000 through membership donations alone. Additionally, various internal fundraisers raised more than $40,000.
Outside of member donations each year, the largest driver of funds is fundraising efforts. Given challenges over the last two years due to COVID-19, many fundraisers had to be postponed or shifted how they had previously functioned to ensure that funds were still able to be raised. Many locations are looking forward to reviving fundraising events that have not been held since 2019.
Because of the generosity of members and the Post Consumer Brands team, the foundation was able to distribute $165,800 in grants this past year. The grants committee meets monthly prior to each board meeting to manage the grants. This group reviews all requests and submits recommendations to the board for approval.
In addition to the grants distributed in 2021, the Foundation granted each Post Consumer Brands location a $1,000 budget, just in time for the holidays, to distribute to local organizations within their communities.
“Our Lancaster, Ohio and Sparks, Nevada locations that became a part of Post in 2021, are working on establishing committees to start planning their own fundraising events,” reported Tiede. “Overall, in 2022, we hope to continue to grow our membership and participation across PCB.”
For those who are interested, Amazon shoppers have a way to support the Better Together Foundation. Through the Amazon Smile program, a portion of every purchase made will be donated back to the foundation. To enroll, follow these simple steps:
- Visit https://smile.amazon.com and click ‘get started’
- Login to your Amazon account
- Search for ‘Better Together Foundation’ and hit ‘select’
- Check the box to confirm the agreement
- Get shopping!
The foundation is currently led by an 11-member board comprised of Post Consumer Brands team members representing a variety of locations and job functions.
Discover more strategies and programs Post has in place to fight hunger in our communities.
