MAL WARWICK DONORDIGITAL

Social and economic justice:

Since our founding in 1979 we have consistently sought out as clients nonprofit causes and institutions, candidates, and political committees that are dedicated to fostering social and economic justice.

Environmental action:

From the time of our incorporation in 1983, we have actively taken steps to minimize the company’s environmental footprint and to urge our vendors and service providers to do so, too.

Fairness in the workplace:

For decades, we have worked to promote fairness in the workplace by equalizing company-wide profit-sharing among all full-time employees, by contributing as generously as possible to our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (which is now the company’s majority owner), and by fostering diversity and inclusion from top to bottom.

Superlative client service:

In an industry where it is standard practice for companies like ours to assign inexperienced young employees to learn on the job as “consultants,” with senior staff members preoccupied by other matters, we have consistently entrusted our clients’ fundraising and marketing programs to teams actively led by senior executives with many years of experience.

Giving back to our community:

We acknowledge how our neighbors and our professional peers have helped make our success possible—by contributing financially to community organizations in both cities where our offices are located, and by dedicating the time of senior executives to provide leadership in professional organizations, to teach at fundraising conferences and workshops, to publish case studies and insightful articles about our work both in print and online, and to offer pro bono service to nonprofit organizations that cannot afford our fees.

To make a significant contribution to the quest for world peace, social justice, and environmental quality;

To furnish our clients with cost-effective service of the highest quality—honoring not just our contractual obligations but also the concerns we share for the importance of their work;

To maintain our reputation for responsiveness, technical skill, creativity, resourcefulness, honesty, commitment to principle, and understanding of our clients’ goals and needs—by demonstrating these qualities in all our dealings with them;

To take sufficient profits in order to generate cash reserves and capital for innovation and growth, as well as a fair return to investors; and

To provide employees with fair pay and benefits, a pleasant and rewarding work environment, and opportunities to participate in exciting and meaningful work as well as to acquire valuable job skills.

Diversity of ownership, governance, leadership, and workforce

Beyond being an equal opportunity employer we are proud of the diversity in our staff, senior management, and independent Board of Directors. Sixty-nine percent of our staff (and eighty percent of our Board of Directors) are women, and twenty-five percent are racial or ethnic minorities.

At the executive level in our company, fifty-seven percent of the company’s Vice Presidents and stock holders are members of previously excluded populations (including racial or ethnic minorities, women, and the LGBTQ community).

We indeed count ourselves as one of the most (if not the most) socio-economically diverse agencies in the nation across ownership, governance, leadership, and our entire workforce.

WHAT IS A BENEFIT CORPORATION?

A benefit corporation is a new legal tool to create a solid foundation for long-term mission alignment and value creation. It protects mission through capital raises and leadership changes, creates more flexibility when evaluating potential sale and liquidity options, and prepares businesses to lead a mission-driven life post-IPO

BENEFIT CORPORATIONS:

1)   have an expanded purpose beyond maximizing share value to explicitly include general and specific public benefit;

2)   are required to consider/balance the impact of their decisions not only on shareholders but also on their stakeholders; and

3)   are required to make available to the public, except in Delaware, an annual benefit report that assesses their overall social and environmental performance against a third-party standard. Such report does not need to certified or audited by a third party, but use the standard as an assessment tool.

Becoming a benefit corporation gives entrepreneurs and investors an additional choice when determining which corporate form is most suitable to achieve their objectives.

About Our ESOP & EO Certification

MWD is the only employee-owned direct response fundraising agency in the nation. After one year of employment, all associates in our agency have a personal stake as an owner of the company through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan.

When our Founder, Mal Warwick, made the decision to turn over the ownership of his company to the employees, his motivation was more than creating a simple transition plan. His vision was to lay a foundation that would change the very nature of the company he had founded decades earlier.

He saw it as an opportunity to embolden the employees into being more innovative and invested, as owners, to carry on the important work of building a company that served the nonprofit community, while continuing his overarching goal of providing the employee-owners with generous compensation and benefits, as well as providing meaningful and fulfilling work that serviced the greater public interest of society.

EO Certification

In addition to our ESOP, Mal Warwick Donordigital is proud to be Certified Employee-Owned^®. Our membership in Certified Employee-Owned^® signals our commitment to promote and expand employee ownership in America. As a member of Certified Employee-Owned^®, MWD meets rigorous standards of significant and broad-based employee ownership. For us, Employee Ownership:

Increases value:

As owners, our employees care deeply about providing high-quality services and have an increased accountability and focus on customer satisfaction.

Creates stability:

Employee ownership gives us a long-term perspective. We’re thinking about the future, not just paying quarterly dividends. We focus on doing what’s right, not trendy; and our employees have long-term incentives built on long-lasting relationships.

Supports employees thinking and acting like owners:

There’s a big difference between seeing yourself as an employee versus as an owner. The pride of ownership drives impressive levels of effort and commitment. Everyone at MWD is working together to benefit the company because we all benefit when the company does well. Our employee-owners see direct financial benefits from delivering time and time again for our nonprofit clients.

Strengthens our communities:

Being employee-owned means our people benefit financially from a job well done. They share in our success in a real and tangible way. Employee ownership enables access to economic opportunity and gives every single employee a chance to benefit from the value they create at work and allows our employees to put the money they earn back into the local economy.

Certified Green Business

To be certified as a Green Business an organization must demonstrate it takes action to conserve resources and prevent pollution in both its facility and operations. And MWD is proud we’ve chosen to conduct business in a manner that is respectful of our imprint on the environment.

The California Green Business Program leads the state and nation in working with small to medium sized businesses to grow a vibrant and healthy green economy. Led by a coalition of cities and counties, CGB contributes to more livable communities with healthier environments, while also conserving resources and saving money.

MWD was one of the first certified California Green Businesses in our area, and we were pioneers in insisting that all our print vendors use recycled paper and environmentally-safe inks. We currently utilize Forest Stewardship Council-certified vendors for paper and printing.