Partner Awards and Honors

2011 Celebration Award Winners

Community Spirit Award: Harris Bank and BMO Capital Markets

The Community Spirit Award is the highest tribute United Way pays to the company that best exemplifies the spirit of caring for the people of our community through its corporate social responsibility efforts.

Corporate Support Pillar: Northern Trust

The Corporate Support Pillar recognizes the company that best aligns its philanthropic goals around strengthening our Chicagoland community and demonstrates its commitment by providing generous financial and/or in-kind support to United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Employee Support Pillar: Illinois Tool Works Inc.

The Employee Support Pillar recognizes the company that best provides employees ample opportunities to invest in their community and the people in it by contributing to United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Leadership Giving Pillar: Illinois Tool Works Inc.

The Leadership Giving Pillar recognizes the company whose employees demonstrate extraordinary generosity through contributing Leadership gifts ($1,000+) to United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Tocqueville Society Pillar: Deloitte

The Tocqueville Pillar recognizes the company whose employees demonstrate extraordinary generosity through contributing Tocqueville gifts ($10,000+) to United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Volunteerism Pillar: Exelon, ComEd and IBEW Local 15

The Volunteerism Pillar recognizes the company that best promotes, encourages and supports its employees’ involvement in our community through hands-on volunteerism through United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Communications Pillar: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois

The Communications Pillar recognizes the company that strategically and effectively raises visibility and awareness through outstanding communication to employees about the impact United Way of Metropolitan Chicago makes in the Chicagoland community.

Outstanding Campaign Video Award: AT&T Inc., IBEW & CWA

The Outstanding Campaign Video Award goes to the company who best visually illustrated the spirit of their partnership with United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Leo Perlis Labor Participation Award: Nicor and IBEW Local 19

The Leo Perlis Labor Participation Award recognizes the local union that excels in its support of and involvement in United Way. The award is named after the former Director of the National AFL-CIO Community Service Program, who was instrumental in forging the earliest organized labor partnerships with United Way.

Growth & Innovation Award: Kellogg Company

The Growth & Innovation Award recognizes the organization that best demonstrates creativity and forward-thinking activities by incorporating United Way best practices or developing entirely new strategies in its efforts to generate an increase of at least 10% in fundraising totals over the previous year.

Frances Wisebart Jacobs Award: Harris Bank Campaign Team and BMO Capital Markets Campaign Team

Named after one of the founders of the national United Way movement, the Frances Wisebart Jacobs Award recognizes the individual who works in an exemplary way throughout the year to educate and inspire employees to invest in their community through United Way of Metropolitan Chicago.

Agency of the Year Award: Ray Graham Association

The Agency of the Year award is presented to the agency that assists United Way of Metropolitan Chicago in providing various volunteers opportunities for several of our corporate partners, exposing our community’s work to our funders and providing UWMC Agency Ambassadors who travel throughout our region to communicate and exemplify how United Way funding is applied in our community in their own UWMC-funded social service programs.

Financial Stability Impact Award: The Center for Economic Progress

The Financial Stability Impact award is presented to an agency that implements a program funded in UWMC’s Financial Stability portfolio. The program at this agency demonstrates and advances the goals of UWMC’s Financial Stability Issue Area.

Health & Wellness Impact Award: Puerto Rican Cultural Center

The Health & Wellness Impact award is presented to an agency that implements a program funded in UWMC’s Health & Wellness portfolio. The program at this agency demonstrates and advances the goals of UWMC’s Health & Wellness Issue Area.

Great Beginnings Award: The PrivateBank

The Great Beginnings Award recognizes the organization that runs a most exceptional first-time employee fundraising campaign, incorporates at least one United Way best practice, obtains and/or maintains a high participation rate and achieves outstanding results.

Diversity Award: Northern Trust

The Diversity Award recognizes the company that best demonstrates its commitment to create an inclusive and flexible workplace that enables individuals to embrace their diversity, richness of backgrounds and varying perspectives. The winning organization also supports, promotes and implements it own diversity initiatives or events.

Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award: Emilia DiMenco, Harris N.A

The Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award recognizes a United Way of Metropolitan Chicago volunteer whose work has gone above and beyond the defined requirements and resulted in groundbreaking achievements towards the advancement of the United Way mission.

Diamond Award: Robert D. Newman, William Blair & Company and Judy E. Schaefer, Sara Lee Corporation

The Diamond Award recognizes a leader from a corporate partner who demonstrates a strong commitment to United Way. Their contribution, leadership and dedication to improving lives have inspired others to LIVE UNITED and advance the common good in our community.

Challenge Grants

Challenge Grants are a critical component to securing the additional revenue needed for impacting lives in our communities. In 2010, Harris Bank and BMO Capital Markets, Illinois Tool Works Inc. and Nicor generously sponsored these efforts.

Corporate Honor Roll

United Way’s Corporate Honor Roll recognizes the impact of corporate giving, sponsorship and loaned executive support in the community.
View Corporate Honor Roll >>

Employee Honor Roll

United Way’s Employee Honor Roll recognizes the impact of employee giving and special events in our community.
View Employee Honor Roll >>

Member United Way Top 5 Corporate Citizens

The Member United Way Top 5 Corporate Citizen Award recognizes those companies and their employees that contribute the most to United Way through their participation in at least two of the following areas—corporate giving, employee giving and special events.

#1 Member United Way Corporate Citizen: Kellogg Company

Top Corporate Citizens of United Way DuPage/West Cook:

  1. Kellogg Company
  2. Caterpillar
  3. Corn Products International
  4. First Midwest Bank
  5. Acxiom Corporation

Top Corporate Citizens of North Shore United Way:

  1. PotashCorp
  2. Tenneco
  3. Costco #348- Glenview
  4. CVS-Caremark
  5. Neiman-Marcus-Northbrook Court

Top Corporate Citizens of Northwest Suburban United Way:

  1. Wheels, Inc
  2. Schwarz Supply Source
  3. ADP
  4. Lawson Products, Inc
  5. Schawk

Top Corporate Citizens of South-Southwest Suburban United Way:

  1. Palos Community Hospital
  2. TransCanada
  3. Aileen S. Andrew Foundation
  4. JCPenney Orland Park, Store #237
  5. Costco Orland Park, Store #647

Top 10 Tocqueville Society Companies

The following organizations led Chicagoland in total dollars raised by individual contributions at the Tocqueville Society level of $10,000 or more.

  1. Deloitte
  2. Ernst & Young
  3. KPMG LLP
  4. PwC
  5. Northern Trust
  6. William Blair & Company
  7. Harris Associates LP
  8. Illinois Tool Works Inc.
  9. Sargent & Lundy LLC
  10. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois