2022 Featured Impact

Boys and Girls Clubs of America Workforce Readiness Program

In 2022, we expanded our reach with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America by working with seven clubs to offer 14 events across the United States to deliver the Workforce Readiness Program. More than 100 RSM volunteers led career fairs, job search training sessions, interview do’s and don’ts workshops and sessions on financial literacy. A key takeaway from teen participants is the importance of being surrounded by supportive mentors to help encourage their development and success in their future careers.

Junior Achievement Take Stock in Your Future

Recognizing that generational wealth and the ability to build wealth does not reflect a level playing field, RSM and Junior Achievement USA worked together to create an immersive stock market experience for youth from various socioeconomic backgrounds. From 2019-22, RSM invested time and more than $2.3 million toward the creation of the JA Take Stock in Your Future program that features classroom curriculum and a live JA Stock Market Challenge simulation. The JA Take Stock in Your Future curriculum was taught to more than 10,000 students in 419 classrooms across the U.S. during the 2021-22 school year. In fall 2022, it was honored with a gold award from the International E-Learning Association for best use of technology in a blended learning experience.

Much of RSM’s investment went toward the JA Stock Market Challenge simulation where RSM Principal Bill Kracunas and other RSM professionals consulted with JA USA through the discovery, prototyping and development phases to provide best practice guidance to ultimately launch an innovative, exciting, easy-to- implement and scalable competition experience for students and educators. In fall 2022, the simulation was piloted across eight JA chapters and will become more broadly available in 2023.

Power of Love

It was a record-setting year for our Power of Love program which amplifies the fundraising and volunteer efforts of our people in the areas where they live and work. More than $6.7 million was donated to local charities focused on creating stable environments for youth across the United States, Canada and India, and 4,000 RSM employees, friends and family members volunteered an amazing 19,500 hours in their local communities. Our employees in India generated our biggest volunteer grant to date, with more than 5,000 volunteer hours resulting in a grant of $79,750 to a local charity focused on educational equity and celebrating diversity.

“The desire to make a difference in the communities where we live and work is universal and something that unites us as a firm,” said Prasad Balakrishnan, RSM principal. “It was impressive to see such an overwhelming response from our volunteers. I thank them for their commitment and contribution and most importantly their zeal in enhancing the quality of education and creating an impact in our communities.”

Community Impact Fund

To amplify the various stewardship activities happening across the firm, the RSM US Foundation expanded its programming in 2022 with the launch of the Community Impact Fund. The program offers application-based grants and fundraising matches to mission-aligned charities that our employees and partners are passionate about. In October 2022, RSM Associate Mark Trejo from Naples, Florida, reached out to the RSM US Foundation hoping the foundation could amplify his efforts to make a greater impact in his community that was recently damaged by Hurricane Ian. RSM has offices throughout the Southeast region of the United States, and Hurricane Ian had a devastating impact on the communities where many of our people live and work. “I spent the weekend volunteering and saw firsthand the immense need for assistance from volunteering to supplies,” said Mark. “I’ve been notifying the South Florida offices about volunteering opportunities and have organized an essential items drive to get supplies to local organizations/charities.” All told, Mark collected more than $8,000 worth of supplies for people in need and the RSM US Foundation amplified his efforts with a matching grant to the Community Cooperative in Fort Myers, Florida. The foundation’s grant funds were designated to the charity’s childhood nutrition programs that provide emergency food to hungry children in their community.

Humanitarian aid to Ukraine

RSM and our people showed their unity with and support of Ukraine in March 2022 by donating $201,000 toward relief efforts to help those threatened by the humanitarian crisis. Recipient organizations included the American Red Cross, Canadian Red Cross and the United Nations Foundation with funds designated for the Ukraine crisis.

This giving aligns with RSM’s recent commitment to the UN Global Compact, a call to organizations around the world to align their strategies and operations with Ten Universal Principals related to human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.