Since its genesis three decades ago, the Boulder-based Sterling-Rice Group has thought of itself as a social experiment.
Since its genesis three decades ago, the Boulder-based Sterling-Rice Group has thought of itself as a social experiment.
“Early on, Michael Rice and I pledged to have a positive impact through our business, should we be successful,” said Rick Sterling, Executive Chairman and co-founder of the integrated brand development firm. “We wanted to do more than just earn a living. So we promised ourselves that – to the degree that we succeed and add more people, and regardless of decisions we might disagree on – we would adhere to our shared values at all times. Those values include excellence, creativity, respect and knowledge in the work we do, as well as generating social value as a true indicator of our success.”
So Sterling was intrigued when he was asked by Josie Heath and others to join a grassroots social movement – a Culture of Giving – in 2000.
“Research and anecdotal evidence in the late 90s showed comparatively low levels of philanthropy in Boulder County, and a lack of awareness regarding the needs within our community,” Sterling explained. “Culture of Giving was launched to encourage increased philanthropy, and empathy.”
Since then, the Sterling-Rice Group has generously contributed pro bono services to help make Boulder County as well known for its generosity as it is for its quality of life. The firm developed the Culture of Giving campaign brand with a yellow ball as a unifying icon to symbolize “what goes around, comes around” and that “giving is a ball.”
“With limited resources, we created a consistent look and feel for the campaign across newspaper, TV, radio and bus advertising,” Sterling said. “We’ve donated our time to handle all the research, marketing, advertising and media placement for Culture of Giving.” The campaign’s stories of community need, community connections and philanthropy have also been told through a variety of volunteer-driven community events.
In the last couple of years, Culture of Giving introduced Phil-and-Thropy and joined forces with Colorado Gives Day, a statewide program to create even greater awareness and impact.
“We’re making progress,” Sterling said. “Based on the most recently-available IRS data, Boulder County’s annual charitable contributions are $175 million. That’s $27 million more than in 2002, our baseline year. And where Boulder County was once 10% lower than state and national averages, our giving as a percentage of adjusted gross income is now 10% greater than these averages.
“But our giving still lags that of some peer communities – that’s why we have to keep the movement rolling.”
Sterling also notes the business advantage of being a socially-minded organization. “We’ve always given a minimum of 10% of our operating income in cash or pro bono services, and we’ve been able to attract and recruit like-minded employees as a result. Our top-notch people come to us in part because of our commitment to social impact, and our own culture of giving as a business. I truly believe that our culture is why we’ve not only survived, but flourished these many years.”
What attracted Sterling to Culture of Giving is its reach beyond single-purpose nonprofits. “I like the macro perspective and long-term impact of the campaign and The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County,” he said. The firm also supports other nonprofits and social ventures – from The Family Learning Center to the Unreasonable Institute. Currently, as the result of its “hallway association” with the Unreasonable Institute, the Sterling-Rice Group is part of a global initiative to raise $1 billion to eradicate acute malnutrition, a preventable pandemic.
“I’ve always believed that if we mange our company to our values, we’ll do okay economically,” Sterling said. Indeed, the results speak for themselves.
