Hundreds gather to celebrate community commitment

November 16, 2011

General Mills Corporate Communications

Hundreds of Twin Cities nonprofit leaders recently attended the General Mills Report to the Community and Employees, an annual event designed to celebrate a shared commitment to making this community – and General Mills communities everywhere – stronger.

	Fiscal 2011
	The General Mills Foundation’s giving reached a record $118 million, a nearly 20 percent increase from fiscal 2010.

“It was an incredible year of collaboration,” said Ellen Goldberg Luger, vice president and executive director of the General Mills Foundation. “Together, we had considerable impact,” she told the nonprofit leaders and employees in attendance.

In fiscal 2011, the Foundation’s giving reached a record $118 million, a nearly 20 percent increase from fiscal 2010. The giving was divided among grants, product donations, and corporate contributions/brand partnerships, with a growing emphasis on hunger and nutrition wellness.

In these tough economic times, many nonprofit organizations have faced a perfect storm of rising demand for services at a time of declining financial support. “We know that you’re operating in a tremendously challenging environment,” said Ken Powell, General Mills chairman and chief executive officer.

“We appreciate all the work you’re doing, and General Mills is committed to doing its part,” Powell told leaders, noting that strong community engagement is “very much part of our heritage.”

In the recently completed United Way drive, General Mills – through the support of employees, retirees and the Foundation – earned top honors as the largest corporate donor in the Twin Cities. It’s a position the company has had for 13 years in a row.

Increasingly, support reflects the company’s global growth, through major initiatives such as Join My Village, but also through grants and disaster relief, said Mary Jane Melendez, Community Action associate director. In the past year, for example, the Foundation stepped in to provide disaster relief in Japan, Pakistan, New Zealand, Brazil and Australia, as well as in its own backyard following the tornado in north Minneapolis.

As in the past, the Report to the Community also included a celebration of employee volunteerism. “General Mills is a championship volunteer organization in so many ways,” said Donna Svendsen, Community Action associate director.

 

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