Case Study: McCarthy Building Companies

McCarthy Building Companies wanted to develop new sources of business by elevating their brand awareness within the local Puget Sound community and expanding the firm’s range of project capabilities. To accomplish this goal, McCarthy’s senior managers asked FPN partner Bob Frause to create a comprehensive corporate citizenship program.

The plan Bob developed provided McCarthy with strategic and tactical elements that complemented the firm’s long-range business objectives. Research was a cornerstone of the plan, and included auditing the direction and intensity of McCarthy’s existing corporate giving, evaluating community involvement by senior managers and selected employees against stated corporate goals, and conducting a brand image study. The research yielded a benchmark for the development of a comprehensive, return on investment-driven corporate philanthropy and community involvement plan. With everything from little league sponsorships and a major gifts program to targeted community involvement by all employees, the plan realigned McCarthy’s corporate citizenship efforts to support the firm’s business development goals.

Before McCarthy exited the Puget Sound marketplace, the new corporate citizenship plan was implemented, and relationships were established with strategic local business, trade and nonprofit organizations. Civic involvement increased exponentially, and McCarthy’s corporate giving programs were restructured to support and advance the firm’s stated corporate objectives.