When Goldmark Property Management and Sterling Management’s annual meeting happened to fall on Giving Hearts Day last year, instead of taking the year off from participating, they turned it into an opportunity.
Nicki Sneed, who serves as a senior engagement coordinator at Goldmark and Sterling, spearheaded the effort to add some philanthropic flair to the local property management firm’s yearly gathering. She staged a Giving Hearts Day-themed photo area and set up a wheel that team members could spin to win a novelty check made payable to the charity of their choice.
“People had a blast,” says Sneed, who joined the Goldmark and Sterling team in 2023 as the company’s first-ever full-time hire dedicated to philanthropy and community-engagement. “It was a fun way to gamify it and say, ‘Here are some funds. We want you to pick.’ If they landed on $25, they were like, ‘Shoot! I wanted $100!’ It was cool seeing people get so excited about money that they knew wasn’t coming directly to them but was going to go back into the community for a cause they really cared about.”
It wasn’t long before people were telling their friends to come over and spin the wheel and taking group photos on the vintage red couch. Creating this type of festive atmosphere around the company’s philanthropic efforts has been intentional, according to Sneed.
“We’re big on communicating (what we’re doing for Giving Hearts Day),” she says. “If it’s at the forefront of your mind, you’re more likely to get involved with it. There’s something really fun about when you have everybody dressed in red at the same time. Because maybe somebody doesn’t know it’s Giving Hearts Day. Maybe they missed the emails, and maybe it gets them to notice and say, ‘What is this Giving Hearts Day thing?’”
Ultimately, it’s about empowering their team members to give back in a way that’s meaningful for them — one of the strengths of a day like Giving Hearts Day — says Sneed.
“It’s about collaborating versus telling,” she says. “We think it’s really important to give our team members that agency because then it becomes something they really get to choose and think about: What does matter to me, and how can I get involved with my community in a way that fills my bucket?”
This year, Goldmark and Sterling plans to participate in ways that go beyond just financial contributions — collecting food and goods for the GHD Goods Drive, volunteering, and putting up snowbank signs at all of their sites — all with a goal of getting their team more activated in the community.
“We’re really just trying to see what works best and try new things out,” Sneed says. “We want to make sure we’re trying every different facet (of GHD) out and see what our team responds to most.”
She says that’s her biggest lesson learned as a Giving Hearts Business, is not letting perfect be the enemy of good.
“You can make it exactly what you want to make it later, but you just have to start somewhere,” Sneed says. “If you want to start small, that’s fine. If it’s your first year as a GHD Business and you just want to send out some emails, that’s awesome. Then, maybe the next year, you can encourage people to wear red. But just start, and then get feedback. Talk to your team and ask them: What did you guys think of what we did this year? Did you like it or not? Having that conversation will make it the most cohesive experience for everybody and will make sure you’re hitting the right notes.”
