Engineering Inc. - Spring 2020 - 41

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"We decided to go with the two-week time
frame to increase our sense of focus and
maximize our impact," Schrock says. "It has
gone well. Compressing the schedule lends
itself to better results."
In 2019, VAA employees in partnership
with their clients raised more than $50,000 for
two local nonprofits-Second Harvest Heartland
and Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners-
a number that is even more impressive considering the
size of the firm-approximately 150 employees.
While a simple call for donations would be unlikely to spur
generous donations, VAA staffers get energized for the two-week
campaign, which includes company get-togethers, an executive
dunk tank, games and prizes, and fierce competitions.
"Fun is a key element of these efforts," Schrock says. "It needs
to be fun."
CREATING A LINEUP OF EVENTS

Employee organizers tried out a variety of events in 2018, the
first year of the two-week blitz, trying to create the right mix of
activities that would both engage VAA staffers and raise funds
for the two charities. The results were sometimes surprising.
For example, in-office happy hours (where employees paid a fee
in the afternoon to enjoy beverages and music with their colleagues) turned out to be a dud. However, VAA employees went
wild for lunchtime bingo games that featured prizes such as gift
cards, cash, and hours of paid time off.
"When we have bingo, the lunchroom is absolutely packed,"
says Patrick Koehnen, senior civil engineer at VAA who represented the firm's leadership team in planning the 2019
Community Caring Campaign. "People buy large numbers of
bingo tickets-more than they can even keep track of-because
it is going to charity."
"People are really amped for bingo-I was surprised," says
James Snyder, structural engineer at VAA who co-led the 2019
campaign. "We have all played bingo in the past, but it is more
about the people in the room than it is about the game itself."
The company pays for all prizes and event costs, allowing

A crowd of VAA employees gather for lunchtime bingo at their office in Minneapolis.

"Fun is a key element
of these efforts."
JEFF SCHROCK
CEO
VAA

100 percent of employee contributions to make their way
to the participating charities. Around three-quarters of the
total fundraising comes from employee pledges and payroll
contributions, but the lineup of events helps create a companywide buzz that leads to widespread participation.
Approximately 60 percent of VAA employees made pledges for
payroll deductions or online contributions in 2019, and around
90 percent participated on some level by making donations to
various fundraising activities during the two-week campaign.
Other popular events include a company barbecue where
employees line up to try to soak company owners in the dunk
tank and a "treat trolley" offering muffins and candy bars for a
small donation. Employees can also "buy"
a compliment for their colleagues, paying a
few dollars for a card that gets hand-delivered
by someone wearing an inflatable T-Rex
dinosaur costume. Additionally, some events,
such as a session where employees packaged
up donations of rice and detergent, tie in
with the charities being helped.
The 2019 campaign wrapped with a
"The Price Is Right" style game. Everyone
who filled out a pledge form was placed in a
drawing to "come on down" and compete for
prizes. But there was perhaps just as much
excitement for a simpler competition-a
"change challenge" where teams competed
to raise as much money as possible by stuffing their team's jars full of coins. Employees
Civil Designer Jeremy Lewandowski gets ready to dunk CEO Jeff Schrock during the company's
could also subtract points from other teams
barbecue to raise money for two local charities.
SPRING 2020

ENGINEERING INC.

Engineering Inc. - Spring 2020

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