2013 social audit

2 0 1 3 —Social Audit

Transparency Is Central to Accountability Compiled by an independent, third-party assessor, The Redwoods Group’s annual social audit serves to publicly report on the social outcomes and impacts of our work. The audit uses the B Corp Impact Assessment as the basis of its analysis.

Because this methodology does not capture all aspects of The Redwoods Group’s focus—in particular our focus on safety—the audit also uses additional quantitative Download the and qualitative research to full social audit at www.redwoodsgroup.com/ capture the full spectrum of 2013SocialAudit/ our social impact.

24—2013 Report

2 0 1 3—Social Audit

$330,000

In calendar year 2013, The Redwoods Group made extensive progress in establishing and measuring their social- and mission-driven performance. In an effort to provide focus on their social efforts, they have identified two distinct areas of work: safety and society. Progress has been made to The value of total focus their mission-driven work by financial grants defining these two categories, and distributed directly from by developing metrics to capture The Redwoods Group. and measure success.

The total raised at a St. Baldrick’s Foundation fundraiser, which Redwoods staff were pivotal in organizing.

St. Baldrick’s raises money for childhood cancer research.

$211,705

The Redwoods Group Foundation also made a fundamental shift in their business model from a grant-making nonprofit to a capacity-building nonprofit.

Defining Focus In the safety category, which encompasses programs and risk management initiatives led by The Redwoods Group business, the data showed progress in several key areas including drowning prevention, child sexual abuse prevention, sauna safety, van safety, and slip, trip and fall prevention.

Social Audit Highlights 2,945

1,435

Employee service hours donated to community organizations. All employees are required to volunteer 40 working hours annually, and many do much more.

The society category is defined as the work that The Redwoods Group and The Redwoods Group Foundation conduct in the community. The Redwoods Group has expanded the forms of capital that they provide to include intellectual capital, financial capital, human capital, social capital and physical capital. When a monetary value is assigned to all forms of capital, it reveals that The Redwoods Group distributed the equivalent of over $848,000 in financial and

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The number of nonprofits and projects employees volunteered for during 2013.

The number of hours of desk and meeting space time donated to nonprofits and mission-aligned organizations.

in-kind assistance to the social allies and partners it works with.

Increasing Awareness In addition to the focus and clarification in mission-driven program areas, and based on the recommendations made in previous reports, The Redwoods Group made progress in awareness of its mission-driven work and social enterprise status. With their

employee stakeholders, they launched a social enterprise curriculum, regular mission moments—in which employees share their mission-driven work with each other—and cross-functional strategy teams to better communicate and engage with employees.

With their customer and vendor stakeholders, The Redwoods Group achieved greater awareness and greater connection with the mission.

2014 Recommendations

The 2013 calendar year saw progress made against the 2012 social audit recommendations.

As always, work remains to be done in 2014 and beyond. Please see the complete social audit for the full set of recommendations:

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2

Safety & Society —Develop a set of

Employees —Develop cross-

specific impact metrics including inputs, outcomes and impacts for all programmatic areas in safety and society and begin tracking.

functional and organization-wide engagement opportunities including social, volunteer and service events.

3 Partners —Find concrete ways to communicate the social mission of The Redwoods Group and engage partners in the community development work of The Redwoods Group Foundation.

2013 Report—25

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2013 Annual Report – Social Audit ! ! ! !

The Redwoods Group 2013 Annual Report Social Audit

Audit Conducted By: Rachael Lambert, MBA January 2014

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Table of Contents Intro & Executive Summary

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Methodology

5

SWOT Analysis

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Impact Assessment - Society

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Impact Assessment - Safety

11

Employee Engagement

14

Partner Engagement

20

Recommendations

23

Conclusion

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Appendix

26

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Introduction The social audit of The Redwoods Group serves to publicly report on the performance of social outcomes and impacts in the 2013 calendar year. The purpose of the social audit is to identify the programs, policies and activities that serve the mission of The Redwoods Group and to measure their impacts. The report also serves to identify the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities that The Redwoods Group faces in relation to their social performance.

Executive Summary In 2013 The Redwoods Group provided focus to their mission driven work in safety and society and expanded the forms of capital they are providing while bolstering their social engagement with community stakeholders.

In calendar year 2013, The Redwoods Group made extensive progress in establishing and measuring their social and mission driven performance. In an effort to provide focus on their social efforts, they have identified two areas of work; safety and society. Progress has been made to clarify, communicate and focus their mission driven work by providing the distinctions between the two categories. Likewise, progress has been made to capture and measure the outcomes and impacts of these two focal areas.

Also, The Redwoods Group Foundation made a fundamental shift in their business model from a grant making non-profit to a capacity building non-profit.

The safety category encompasses programs and risk management initiatives led by The Redwoods Group business to increase safety, as a core part of their operating business. These programs include drowning prevention, child sexual abuse prevention, sauna safety, van safety and slips, trips and falls. The Redwoods Group Foundation also,

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2013 Annual Report – Social Audit !

engages in work in safety by leveraging the risk management experience of TRG employees along with capacity and community building to spread initiatives and programs. The society category is defined as the work that The Redwoods Group and The Redwoods Group Foundation conduct in the community. The Redwoods Group has expanded the forms of capital that they provide to include intellectual capital, financial capital, human capital, social capital, and physical capital.

In additions to the focus and clarification in mission driven program areas and based on the recommendations made in previous reports The Redwoods Group made progress in awareness of mission driven work and social enterprise status. With their employee stakeholders, they launched a social enterprise curriculum, mission moments and cross-functional strategy teams to better communicate and engage with employees.

With their customer and vendor stakeholders, The Redwoods Group achieved greater awareness and greater connection with the mission.

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Methodology The preliminary form of research was conducted utilizing the B Corps Impact Assessment audit of The Redwoods Group from 2009 and 2012. According to B Lab “B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Today, there is a growing community of more than 910 Certified B Corps from 29 countries and 60 industries working together toward 1 unifying goal: to redefine success in business.1�

As a third party auditor, the B Corps Impact Assessment provided general insight into social performance but lacked the company specific information needed for a comprehensive report on social impact. Therefore additional research was necessary to capture outcomes and impact.

In order to capture the company specific measurable outcomes, the 2013 social audit was conducted utilizing both qualitative and quantitative results that focused on capturing the forms of capital disbursed, the impact of capital disbursements and the level of social engagement with employees, customers, vendors and community partners.

Capital disbursements were determined utilizing human resources data on volunteer hours, charitable matches and in-kind services. Where assumptions were needed to calculate monetary value of capital, it is noted in the appendix documents.

Where possible, all forms of capital were converted into dollar amounts in order to capture a comparable figure to measure input year on year.

Engagement levels were determined utilizing surveys that sampled a broad base of employees, customers, vendors and community partners. Personal interviews were also utilized to capture the level of and quality of engagement in social and mission driven activities. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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http://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps

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SWOT Analysis In reviewing both The Redwoods Group and The Redwoods Group Foundation’s mission driven work and the stakeholder surveys, there are a series of strengths and weaknesses that can lead to opportunities and threats. This analysis will be used as a guiding document for reviewing the opportunities and recommendations for 2014. Most notable amongst the opportunities is identifying new funding sources for TRGF and employee culture building through cross-functional service and volunteer days.

While this list is not exhaustive, this analysis provides an overview of the main themes in that arose in the 2013 The Redwoods Group social audit.

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Impact Assessment - Society The society portion of the impact assessment focuses on the newly defined areas of capital disbursement. While none of the activities are new to The Redwoods Group or The Redwoods Group Foundation, the categorization and communication of the five areas of capital are new and meaningful in how the organization is distributing and measuring their inputs and outcomes.

This categorization has also helped the organization seize opportunities to provide multiple forms of beneficial capital to the community. Before analyzing the input, of each of the areas, there is a brief definition of the five forms of capital that The Redwoods Group distributes. A distinction for the four forms of capital besides financial capital, is all capital measured is provided by employees occurs during work hours but outside the scope of an employee’s regular job position.

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1. Intellectual Capital – The capital that is distributed through the knowledge and expertise of The Redwoods Group staff. The primary form of intellectual capital distribution is a staff member who participates as a guest speaker, serves as a panelist or provides specific professional resources to The Redwoods Group Foundation or other non-profit organizations. Intellectual capital also captures the convening work of The Redwoods Group with the Jewish Community Center Association, which has included convening senior leaders in the JCCA organization, strategic training and guidance around safety and capacity building in risk management.

2. Financial Capital – The capital that is distributed through financial grants. A key distinction of financial capital in 2013 is the reduction of financial capital distribution in favor of leveraging other forms of capital. The Redwoods Group, through a newly defined grant making process, distributes financial capital. This grant process includes a scorecard system for analyzing and distributing grants and allows for other forms of feedback and capital to be provided.

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3. Human Capital – The capital that is distributed through employee volunteer hours. The employee volunteer policy is a distinguishing feature of The Redwoods Group benefits package and includes a mandatory 40 hours of volunteer work per annum per employee. Human capital also includes the work of employees in the Emerging Leaders program of The United Way as well as the RCO curriculum, which is a series of seminars to prepare and place The Redwoods Group employees in community board positions.

4. Social Capital – The capital that is provided to community partners to scale and increase their impact. The most notable forms of social capital are through the collaborative efforts of The Redwoods Group employees with St. Baldrick’s and with The United Way.

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5. Physical Capital – The capital that is given through in-kind services. The primary form of physical capital is the donation of office space for mission related work.

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*Daily rate determined using a daily rate of a shared office space, http://bullcitycoworking.com/prices/

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Impact Assessment - Safety The 2013 calendar year saw progress across each measure of safety improvements and ended the year with a re-focused set of safety goals. Similar to the society category of impact, the safety category of impact is focused into five strategic areas of focus which are not only a core part of The Redwoods Group business model in lowering risk but also serve a greater purpose in keeping communities safe. The five areas of safety focus are listed below with a brief definition and key achievements in the 2013 calendar year.

1. Drowning Prevention a. The Redwoods Group Foundation Drowning prevention initiatives include the programming and support from The Redwoods Group Foundation and the convening and scaling efforts of the Learn to Swim committee. In 2013, The Redwoods Group and The Redwoods Group Foundation dedicated staff support as well as multiple forms of capital support to scaling drowning prevention initiatives through the YMCA network. This included a new program model launched at the YMCA National Convention; Learn to Swim. b. The Redwoods Group also scaled impact through increased education and training through Redwoods Online and the newly re-focused Risk Consulting team. Key recommendations for drowning prevention in the future are defining a set of goals and metrics to track and assess the program impact and further scale to reach more in the YMCA network.

Some highlight achievements in 2013 include the following.

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2. Child Sexual Abuse Prevention a. The Redwoods Group Foundation - Building on the community partnership known as Partnering in Prevention, and risk management training, The Redwoods Group Foundation has continued to focus on increasing the number of individuals trained in Stewards of Children training while scaling their efforts nationally through new channels. Major progress has been made in scaling Stewards of Children training through two major additions in 2013, i. The appointment of a National Director for Partnering in Prevention; Michael Graves. ii. The rollout of new online Stewards of Children training from Darkness to Light increasing the accessibility of the training.

2013 saw adoption by new partner agencies and a number of YMCA State Alliances, leading to an overall increase in the number of YMCA’s partnered by 88%.

3. Van Safety a. The Redwoods Group has continued to advocate for the removal of 15 passenger vans from child serving organizations due to the safety issues they create. 2013 van safety is being removed as an area of company focus as the number of 15 passenger vans operated by accounts reduced to 15 total. It appears that the risk management education and advocacy from The Redwoods Group has been heard across their customer base and positive change has been made in keeping children safe while being transported.

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4. Slips, Trips and Falls Safety a. The Redwoods Group Slips, Trips and Falls have continued to be an area of focus for the risk consulting team and will receive an increased efforts as an “area of focus” for improvement.

5. Sauna Safety a. The Redwoods Group Sauna safety has become an area of focus for the risk consulting team at The Redwoods Group and through education and advocacy, they have made progress in creating safer environments by preventing fires in saunas. Some of the highlights in 2013 are highlighted below.

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Employee Engagement The employee section of civil discourse was conducted through an employee survey (37 respondents) and in-person interviews. The primary focus of employee civil discourse was to identify the connection employees felt to The Redwoods Group mission, their satisfaction with community and social engagement opportunities, and to assess progress against the 2013 recommendations from the 2012 social audit, which focused primarily on communication and engagement.

Progress in three key areas were highlighted through the employee survey; mission connection, communication and meaningful engagement. Recommendations for the upcoming year will focus on optimizing the employee strategy teams, finding opportunities to engage employees in cross-functional activities and social impact work and continuing to communicate the achievements of the organization in social impact.

1. Mission Connection

“I came to Redwoods because I believe the company is trying to make a difference in the world.”

“I think that it adds value to the work that I do.”

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“Responsibility to employees and customers is important. Redwoods treats employees with care, and focuses on values-based leadership. The same approach is taken with our customers.”

“It doesn’t affect me one way or the other.”

“I did not understand fully the meaning of our company being a “Social Enterprise”.

After 2013, I feel very confident in my understanding of what a social enterprise means and how our company is a social enterprise.”

“I think the events could’ve been stronger, but it’s been nice to spend more time talking about how everyone here supports the purpose.”

“It helped me understand how each department fits with the mission.”

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2. Communication

“I really enjoy mission moments. I would like more employees to be involved.”

“Mission Moments didn’t help as much as when each department had a full month of explaining their contribution to our social enterprise mission.”

“I’ve really appreciated the monthly insights into what’s happening with the Foundation.”

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“I feel employees need a more direct understanding of the good work the foundation is doing and focused on.”

3. Meaningful Engagement

“I enjoyed being a part of a strategy team but I do not feel that I really got to hear about what the other teams came up with or how any of their ideas were implemented.”

“Yes, it allowed me to take ownership of my ideas for the company and get immediate feedback from others.”

“No conclusion, it seems like it just got dropped.”

“We had good momentum at the start of the group, but it fizzled out and we never make a big impact.”

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“This work is connected to what we do with our profits at Redwoods.”

“It has helped me be a part of a company that really helps to impact the communities that we serve and has allowed me to learn more about the foundation.”

“Our foundation work supports our mission to change the world.”

4. Employee Benefits - The Redwoods Group offers a comprehensive employee benefits package that includes charity match, retirement planning, volunteer hours, six-week maternity leave amongst other benefits. When asked what employee opportunities have been the most important to your professional experience, the answers were varied but overwhelmingly volunteer hours were listed highlighting the strong mission alignment of employees. “ Volunteer hours because I am able to do work with organizations that are seeking help to do the great work they do.”

“I love the community support leave. It has allowed me to serve in the community on an ongoing basis. I am also very pleased with the benefits that we are provided that add more value to my paycheck.”

“RCO was a tremendous opportunity and responsibility.”

“The mission and culture of TRG is most important to me.”

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5. Employee Recommendations “More engagement in departmental meetings, coaching for all managers on how better to connect their people to our impact.”

“More cross-departmental events outside the office.”

“We need to have a central area where we can share information with each other about service projects.”

“I think that if we did more as a company instead of as departments, we would have greater impact.”

“I would like to see another big company event to be able to get out and volunteer with employees outside of my department.”

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2013 Annual Report – Social Audit !

Partner Engagement The partner section of civil discourse was conducted through a partner survey (23 respondents). Partners included customers, vendors and community partners. The primary focus of the partner civil discourse was to identify the connection partners felt to The Redwoods Group mission, their ability to benefit from The Redwoods Group mission driven work and their awareness of The Redwoods Foundation’s work.

Achievements were made in both awareness and connection to The Redwoods Group social enterprise status and mission. Key themes include a high level of mission alignment and perceived benefit from The Redwoods Group mission driven work.

“The core work of The Redwoods Group is conducted with a “serve others” mentality.

From claims, to risk management, to premium determination the mission comes through and inspires our organization to support their mission.”

“We appreciate that The Redwoods Group shares a similar mission with the YMCA.”

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2013 Annual Report – Social Audit !

“I think they are on the right path.”

“The training provided online is evidence of their commitment.”

“I definitely agree with what they are doing and am glad we are partnered with them.”

“ABSOLUTELY! Our working relationship will positively impact the lives of so many people.”

“Don’t know much about them.”

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1. Partner Recommendations “Continue doing what they are doing.”

“Great organization. Great leaders and advocates. Keep it going!”

“Maybe offer some regional opportunities to engage in workshops or volunteer events.”

“I hope Redwoods stays affordable for my organization.”

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2013 Annual Report – Social Audit !

Recommendations The 2013 calendar year saw progress made against the 2012 social audit recommendations. The comprehensive actions can be seen in the tables below. In order to continue the impactful work in safety, society, employee and partner engagement, there are a series of recommendations to advance the social impact of The Redwoods Group and The Redwoods Group Foundation’s mission driven work. The top three recommendations are, 1. SAFETY & SOCIETY – Develop a set of specific impact metrics including inputs, outcomes and impacts for all programmatic areas in safety and society and begin tracking.

2. EMPLOYEES - Develop cross-functional and organization wide engagement opportunities including social, volunteer, and service events.

3. PARTNERS – Find concrete ways to communicate the social mission of The Redwoods Group and engage partners in the community development work of The Redwoods Group Foundation.

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Conclusion The 2013 social audit of The Redwoods Group illuminates the progress the organization has made in focusing their social impact, communicating their refocused efforts across various stakeholders and scaling their programs to achieve positive social impact. In assessing the 2014 landscape, The Redwoods Group has established a foundation on which to grow and refine their social impact metrics and their assessment tracking ability across safety and society as well as to engage their employees and partners further in meaningful and mission driven work.

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Appendix BCorp Scorecard 2009

28

BCorp Scorecard 2012

30

BCorp Comparison ’09 and ’12

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Grant Scorecard

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The Redwoods Group | B Corporation

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The Redwoods Group 2009 B Impact Report

Company Score

Median Score*

Overall B Score

107

86

Accountability

N/A

8

Governance / Accountability

8

5

Transparency / Reporting

5

4

N/A

5

36

26

Compensation & Benefits

18

18

Employee Ownership

2

3

Work Environment

16

6

30

28

Beneficial Products / Services

0

25

Beneficial Method of Production / Impact

20

N/A

Serving Those in Need

10

N/A

Fair Trade / Supplier Code of Conduct

Employees

Consumers

http://www.bcorporation.net/community/the-redwoods-group/impact-report/2009-09-29-000000

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The Redwoods Group | B Corporation

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Community

22

21

Local

5

10

Diversity / Broad Ownership Charity / Direct Service

4 15

6

6

12

6

7

Transportation / Distribution

N/A

3

Manufacturing Facilities

N/A

3

107

86

Environment Corporate Offices

Overall 80 out of 200 is eligible for certification

*Of all businesses that have completed the B Impact Assessment (/benchmarks) *Median scores will not add up to overall

http://www.bcorporation.net/community/the-redwoods-group/impact-report/2009-09-29-000000

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The Redwoods Group | B Corporation

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The Redwoods Group 2012 B Impact Report

Company Score

Median Score*

112

80

7

9

Environmental Products & Services (e.g. Renewable energy, recyling)

0

4

Environmental Practices

7

6

Land, Office, Plant

6

4

Energy, Water, Materials

<1

2

Emissions, Water, Waste

<1

1

N/A

N/A

36

22

Compensation, Benefits & Training

25

15

Worker Ownership

4

2

Work Environment

7

4

54

32

Overall B Score Environment

Suppliers & Transportation

Workers

Community http://www.bcorporation.net/community/the-redwoods-group/impact-report/2012-12-17-000000

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The Redwoods Group Foundation, Inc. 2801 Slater Road Suite 220 • Morrisville NC 27560 P 919.481.6440 • F 919.462.9727

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Your Name: Organization Name:

Score

Focus Area (Yes/No) Does the program fall in one of our core program areas? If yes, check box and continue.

Yes/No

CanChild We Fulfill of the Request with Other Sources of Capital?

(Yes/No) SexualSome Abuseor AllAquatics Transportation Employee Safety/Other

Human

Knowledge

Theory of Change (1-5)

Social

Physical

Other

Yes/No

How likely is it that the program will lead to its intended impact?

Capacity and Implementation Plan (1-5) How confident are you in their (and any partners) ability to accomplish the goals in the Need (1-5) request?

How great is the organization’s need for our funding?

Relationship (1-5) Do we know this organization and have prior experience with their ability to implement and their commitment to this effort?

Outcomes/Results (1-5) **Weighted Double** How meaningful will the results of the program be for the organization or community?

Beneficiaries (1-5) Does this program target the people who need it the most?

Community Partners (1-5) Has the organization effectively utilized partnerships to maximize the program’s impact?

Sustainability (1-5) Will the impact of this program or project last for the beneficiaries involved?

Reporting Plan (1-5) How well-informed will we be about the results of our funding?

Overall Rating (1-5) How strongly do you feel that we should fund request?

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