4 Principles of a Caring Company Culture

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a challenging year for the educators we serve, as well as the students and families they serve. With the holidays rapidly approaching, charitable giving is top of mind for many organizations, including Education Advanced, Inc. At a recent State of the Company meeting, I was moved by my colleagues and inspired by the spirit of EAI, which keeps children at the heart of every decision. Through a seemingly simple challenge, the culture of caring at Education Advanced was revealed through these four principles.

Support Employee Interests

The scene unfolded as a handful of EAI employees eagerly awaited their chance to share at the State of the Company meeting. The EAI team was challenged with nominating children’s charities to be the focus of this year’s holiday celebration. As a company made up of educators and parents, we are passionate about kids, which was clearly illustrated by our list of nominations. I personally felt honored to have an opportunity to share my outside-of-work interest with my work family.

Make It Personal

What I loved most about this process was how personal it became. Employees who nominated a charity were given an opportunity to share information or personal anecdotes at the company-wide weekly meeting. Being that the Education Advanced team is 100% decentralized, experiences like this are pure gold. As my colleagues, many of whom I have never met in person, shared their intimate stories in our Zoom meeting, I could barely hold back the tears. We are about KIDS – this commitment is deeply personal!

Spread the Love

As team members appealed to the collective in support of their nominee, sharing why their organization deserved to be the "winner," a powerful thing occurred. A suggestion was made to equally divide the donations among the nominated charities. The heartfelt testimonies of the impact these organizations have had on our own families, friends and communities led our team to opt for a "win-win" situation. We took a vote, and it was unanimous to spread the love!

Double the Gift

But the magic doesn’t end there! At the following week’s meeting, CEO Dr. Eli Crow announced that Education Advanced would match the donations collected by our team. A great characteristic of leadership is to lead by example, and this act sent a strong message of giving to our entire company. Double the gift - exponentially increase our culture of caring.

Making charitable donations doesn’t just make people feel good, it can advance community wellbeing, change the course of a family, and even forge new bonds within an organization. Education Advanced develops operations tools for education leaders but the center of our focus remains on the children who are the ultimate beneficiaries of our work. Our team lives our purpose each day in the work we do both inside and outside of our EAI roles. These efforts result in a better workplace, a better business, and if we can help it - a better world for kids.  

To learn more about the charities nominated by the EAI team, visit the links below.  

• Boys & Girls Club of America
• Hollins Communication Research Institute
• June Shelton School & Evaluation Center
• Make a Wish Foundation
• Muscular Dystrophy Association
• National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
• Operation Underground Railroad (OUR)
• People Attempting to Help (PATH)
• Ronald McDonald House Charities