General Mills’ philanthropy is an extension of the company’s Nourishing Lives mission and ties closely to our core business. Our approach to strengthening communities includes engaging our employees around the world in volunteerism, as well as three philanthropic focus areas:
* Alleviate hunger
* Advance nutrition wellness
* Improve education
While we’re proud of our communities, our collective impact and our progress, we recognize there is still much more to be done, and that sixty years is just the beginning.
Now, sixty years after our Foundation was officially formed in 1954, our commitment to our communities is unwavering, and we are more inspired than ever by the remarkable work of our community partners.
Report to the Community2013 – 2014
©2013 General Mills
Tackling global hunger and poverty
The amount we’ve given to charitable causes since the General Mills Foundation was created in 1954.
General Mills has donated over US$300 million in food since 1999, including US$46 million in fiscal 2013 alone, to help alleviate hunger.
Over one million youth have been served and US$5.5 million granted during last decade through our Champions for Healthy Kids program.
Over 90,000 schools participate in our Box Tops for Education program, which has given US$525 million to schools since 1996.
Over $1 billion
US$300 million 1 million kids 90,000 schools“At General Mills, we believe remarkable philanthropy lies at the intersection of the community’s greatest needs and our company’s unique strengths. That’s why we focus our philanthropic and community engagement efforts on alleviating hunger, advancing nutrition wellness, and improving education.”
– Ellen Goldberg Luger, Executive Director, General Mills Foundation
Sixty years of nourishing communitiesSince our milling origins tracing back to the 1860s, General Mills has understood the precious opportunity and responsibility we have not only to create value for shareholders, but also to have a positive and lasting impact that extends throughout our communities.
In 1883, Washburn Center for Children was founded by Cadwallader C. Washburn, co-founder of the milling company that evolved into General Mills, following a mill explosion that left several children orphaned. General Mills has supported Washburn Center for Children for over 130 years.
More than ever, we are leveraging our employees’ unique expertise as food scientists, nutritionists, engineers and marketers to support innovative global programs that work to empower and strengthen highly impoverished and food insecure communities.
Join My Village
Sixty years is just the beginning …
Partners In Food Solutions
Through Join My Village, General Mills
partners with the humanitarian organization,
CARE, and corporate partners, including
Merck, to give girls and women living
in highly impoverished communities
the chance to build a brighter future for
themselves, their families, and their entire
communities. Founded in 2009, and with
programs now in India and Malawi, Join
My Village has provided more than 950
secondary scholarships, built 27 homes for
teachers, created nearly 350 village savings
and loan groups, and given more than
US$3.4 million to help girls and women in
some of the world’s poorest regions. For
2013, General Mills has committed another
US$1.2 million to JMV initiatives, with a
focus on expanding access to education.
By viewing, liking and sharing information
about the program on Facebook, Twitter
and Tumblr, people around the world help
to unlock funds into JMV programs.
Through Partners In Food Solutions, an independent nonprofit organization powered by employee volunteers from General Mills, Cargill, DSM and Bühler, we are able to leverage our employees’ expertise as food scientists, nutritionists and engineers to help small and growing African food
processors and millers produce high-quality, nutritious and safe food. By helping to improve the capacity, efficiency and product quality of local food processors, Partners in Food Solutions seeks to improve the food value chain and create a “virtuous cycle.” As the food processors grow, they can
hire more local workers and buy more raw materials from smallholder farmers. With higher incomes, those farmers can build a better life for their families, while enhancing food security in the region.
More than 300 General Mills employees contribute their time, knowledge and passion to Partners in Food Solutions.
300+
Alleviate hunger
Advance nutrition wellness
Improve education
Alleviate hunger
Advance nutrition wellness
Improve education
Thanks in part to Join My Village, Jenifer Godfrey (pictured above) gained a secondary school education and was recently accepted to attend Malawi’s Bunda College, where she plans to study agriculture.www.joinmyvillage.com
Employee giving
Employee volunteerism
Harnessing the power of our employees
Every year General Mills conducts an
employee and retiree giving campaign
in the United States and Canada in
partnership with the United Way, whose
programs work to combat poverty at its
roots across our communities. United Way
partners with local nonprofits, businesses
and government to strategically address the
community’s most pressing needs. During
our 2012 United Way campaign,
General Mills was able to contribute
US$14.2 million to the United Way,
through employee and retiree giving,
the Foundation match and special events.
This level of support made General Mills
the #1 corporate contributor to the
Greater Twin Cities United Way
for the 14th consecutive year.
General Mills has a long standing tradition
of supporting our employee’s efforts
to make a difference in the community
through volunteerism. Among our company
values are: “We do the right thing, all
the time,” and “We respect, develop
and invest in our people.” These values
are evident as our total average rate of
volunteerism has grown to 76% of all
employees globally (83% among U.S.
employees, 51% of employees outside the
U.S.). Beyond encouraging such community
engagement, General Mills also provides
tools to make our employees’ volunteerism
as impactful as possible. Earlier this year
the Foundation launched “WeGive,” a
web-based tool that gives General Mills
employees around the globe a single
platform they can use to explore and
connect to volunteering opportunities
across their local communities, aligned to
the employee’s unique skills or interests.
Nourishing lives, every day
General Mills works with remarkable partners at the global, national and local levels to strengthen communities by harnessing our collective insights and impact. We empower our employees to heighten their community impact through customizable giving programs and skills-based volunteerism.
Millions of times each day, families around the world trust our brands to nourish and delight the most important people in their lives. We value that trust, and each day we focus on living up to those expectations not only by providing safe, quality food, but also by living our mission as a member of our community.
More than 80 percent of General Mills U.S.-based employees volunteer in our communities.
80%
Grantees of the General Mills Foundation may post their volunteer needs on WeGive, an internal site that General Mills employees use to discover and sign-up for volunteerism opportunities. For instructions on posting to WeGive, send an email to [email protected] with
“WeGive General Mills” in the subject line.
Charitable givingOur community support surpassed US$153 million
(nearly $3MM a week) in fiscal 2013. Through our
grants, we’re fighting hunger, encouraging good nutrition
and youth fitness, and improving education.
We’re also getting involved, serving as volunteers and
board leaders, and sharing our expertise to make our
communities stronger. Our efforts in the community
reflect our company’s Nourishing Lives mission.
For more examples of how General Mills is
strengthening communities, follow us on Facebook
at www.Facebook.com/generalmillsgives.
Corporate Contributions/ Brand Partnerships
Product Donations
Foundation Grants
$26.9 million
$46.0 million
$80.8 million
The amount we gave to charitable causes in fiscal 2013
$153+ million
The Champions for Healthy Kids program improves the nutritional knowledge and fitness behaviors of youth in the U.S
Integrating food with healthy, active lifestyles We advance nutrition wellness by helping
families make nutritious food choices and
integrate food with healthy, active lifestyles.
Champions for Healthy Kids: Our
Champions for Healthy Kids grants
program aims to improve the fitness
behaviors and nutritional knowledge
of America’s youth. General Mills
Foundation developed the program in
2002 in partnership with the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation and the
University of Minnesota. Since that time,
we have funded more than 500 programs
nationwide, and reached over 1 million kids
through grants totaling US$ 5.5 million.
Presidential Youth Fitness Program: The
President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and
Nutrition (a partner of the Foundation since
2002) has developed and launched an
all-new Presidential Youth Fitness Program
(PYFP), providing the latest assessment tools
and fitness education program resources
for schools coast to coast. As the Inaugural
Presidential Sponsor, the General Mills
Foundation’s support of the program includes
US$10 million over six years (2012 – 2018),
including US$1 million of in-kind marketing
support, to help U.S. schools access the free
program, which promotes lifelong
physical activity and
helps students
to develop
and pursue
individualized
fitness goals.