Kunes Auto Group
How does helping others factor into the culture of your business?
Giving back is the foundation of our culture at Kunes Auto Group. “We Build People’s Lives” is the opening line of our mission statement, and we take it seriously.
Please share with us the causes that are important to you and your business.
We focus on helping people in need. Think orphanages, food pantries, free clinics, shelters and things of that nature. It’s not about putting our name out there or on buildings; we consider that advertising, not giving. It’s about taking the first 10% of our earnings and giving that back to others.
How do you encourage your team members to get involved?
To be honest, we haven’t been great at this, but we’re trying. A tithe is something you simply do, not brag about, so we haven’t been great at sharing with our team. However, this year we’ve teamed up with a company that connects giving with employees and we hope to do events a few times a year. This summer, we took $400,000 that we were giving to our community food pantries and turned it into a food packaging event called Trade-In Hunger, where all of our stores participated in making meal kits that were delivered to the pantries. It was a great way to have our teams participate.
What do you look for in a cause to determine if you will get involved? What advice can offer to others?
When we give back, we look for organizational impact and see if it aligns with our desire to help people in need. We say “yes” a lot, but probably say no more often because we’re not supporting athletics, arts or pets; we’re looking to improve people’s lives that desperately need help. We believe that’s our place, and others will support the organizations that we don’t. If we can give any advice, it’s to separate giving from advertising and give big to the needs that speak to you.