2020 - A Year in review

2020 was an extraordinary year in more aspects than one. This year of extreme uncertainty brought along with it a high level of need as families and businesses struggled as the world shut down. With the support of our client families, the Clearwater Capital Foundation was humbled that our foundation was able to not only continue our gifting efforts, but to ramp up the impact of our foundation this year. 2020 represented the single largest year of giving for the Clearwater Capital Foundation since it’s inception. As we put 2020 in the rear-view mirror and look forward to what lies ahead in 2021, let us first pause to highlight some of the positive giving moments to come out of the challenging year.

Traditional Foundation Giving

Despite the decision to shift funds to COVID specific grants that were initiated earlier in the year, the foundation decided it was still important to continue with our ongoing area’s of impact. Each year the foundation identifies a number of local and international charitable organization that align with the goals and mission of the Clearwater Capital Foundation. Many of these organizations were forced to cancel in person fundraising events that typically account for a large percentage of their fundraising. With these events being cancelled, the CCF decided to continue grants to these organizations in lieu of their fundraising events so that they could continue to operate and serve in their respective area.

COVID 19 Relief Funds

“When our foundation committee sat down in January of 2020 to conduct our annual planning, combating a global pandemic was not on in our plans for the year,” said James Chapman from the CCF Grant Committee. As economic shutdowns put hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work the CCF saw dozens of local charities pivot and launch specific COVID 19 relief funds. The Foundation Committee recognized the urgent need that COVID 19 had introduced to local communities and launched four grants between March and April to local COVID Relief funds. These grants facilitated food and economic relief to local families who had faced specific challenges related to the pandemic.

Lavelle Law Charities VIRTUAL Food Drive

One of the responsibilities of the Clearwater Capital Foundation Committee is identifying organizations that are like minded in philanthropy. One of the organizations identified this year was Lavelle Law. This year Lavelle law Charities conducted their annual food drive virtually due to COVID 19 restrictions. Donors either shopped online or contributed funds through a new, secure food drive portal. 100% of all food and cash donations went directly to the Schaumburg Township Food Pantry. Given the alignment of missions the CCF launched a cash grant to further this cause. This year, Lavelle Law Charities matched the first $10,000 raised, bringing the grand total to over $25,000. More can be read on the Lavelle Law’s website by clicking HERE.

Year - End Employee Matches

One of the cornerstones of the Clearwater Capital Foundation is seeking to improve the quality of lives for others where our employees serve. As such, team members of Clearwater Capital Partners have the unique opportunity for their personal charitable giving to be matched by the Clearwater Capital Foundation. "The CCF Employee match program does an excellent job of fostering a culture of giving" said Ricki Turner, CCF Committee member who utilized the match program to amplify her gift to the Best Friends Organization this year. This program enables employees to amplify their gifting to organizations they are already serving and further encourages team members to continue supporting others in their communities and across the world. This year’s match program was utilized by half of the entire CCP Team and introduced seven new organization to the Foundation.

Employee Giving to the CCF

As the Foundation continues to ramp up its formalized giving structure there is an emboldened sense of ownership from the Foundation Committee. As needs were made evident and challenges were met the Clearwater Capital Foundation actually saw a record year of giving into the foundation by employees. Efforts made between the team to “match” donations into the foundation resulted in over $30 thousand dollars being raised for the foundation solely by contributions from employees of the Clearwater Capital Partners Team. The good stewardship of these resources is reinforced by the team aspect of the volunteer foundation Committee. “2020 presented extraordinary challenges for not only our company but also each team member we have on board, but to see the many team members who opted to step up and put their money where their mouth is could not make me more proud of those who volunteer their time to the CCF” said John Chapman, CEO of Clearwater Capital Partners.

About the Clearwater Capital Foundation

The Clearwater Capital Foundation is the employee lead charitable arm of Clearwater Capital Partners. Leading the Foundation is a committee of 10 team members who volunteer their time to take unique roles in managing the foundation. The committee is broken down into sub committees focusing on areas of the Grant Process, Finances, and Communications. 2020 represented a transformational year as the newly formed subcommittee leadership was able to further formalize and improve the structure and procedures. The foundation enters 2021 with a renewed excitement for what the year will bring and stands ready to make an impact where it is most needed.