2021 Annual Report
PRIVATELY HELD | EMPLOYEE-OWNED
Impacting Our Communities
For more than 100 years, Baird has been focused on building stronger communities in the places where we live and work. The success of our businesses becomes especially meaningful to us when it is reflected in the greater good of the world we live in. In 2021, we intensified our commitment to building inclusive and diverse communities both within Baird and around us, strengthened our focus on giving back through Baird Foundation and inaugurated a new series of educational grants inspired by our late chairman Paul Purcell.
Inclusion & Diversity
Building an inclusive and diverse environment for our associates, our clients and our communities has been a long-time focus for the firm. We strive to carry out that goal in all of our work, our strategic planning and our community impact. This commitment is reflected in many programs and initiatives across Baird.
As a firm, we are focused on serving an increasingly diverse client base and inclusively engaging the best talent globally. We demonstrate our commitment to inclusion & diversity through a variety of initiatives, including our Associate Resource Groups (ARGs), which include Prism for our associates of color and Spectrum for our LGBTQ associates. These groups provide networking and professional development opportunities while emphasizing meaningful community outreach.
Baird Foundation
Baird Foundation supports nonprofit organizations aligned with our focus on health and human services, education, the arts and more. Baird Foundation helps us live out our strong commitment to equality and opportunity for all, and particularly seeks to support organizations where our associates are actively engaged in order to maximize our impact.
To support our associates’ personal giving, Baird Foundation provides matching gifts to deserving charities as well as direct donations to organizations where our associates are actively involved. In 2021, Baird Foundation contributed more than $5.4 million to qualified nonprofits, including more than $1.5 million to match our associates’ charitable donations.
2021 BAIRD FOUNDATION
GIVING AREAS OF FOCUS
Baird Gives Back Week
Our annual Baird Gives Back Week initiative saw more than 2,000 associates donating their time and efforts to their communities, with 5,470 hours contributed across 107 participating locations. In addition, our annual United Way campaign raised over $3.6 million in 2021, with contributions from 61 participating offices.
Honoring Paul Purcell
One very special initiative we launched in 2021 was the inaugural Paul Purcell “Kids Win!” Annual Baird Education Grants, with a total of $700,000 donated to seven nonprofit educational organizations across the markets we serve. Ensuring access to quality education for all was of paramount importance to Paul, Baird’s former chairman & CEO who passed away in 2020, and his legacy lives on in many ways. Paul was honored with a Lifetime Leadership Award at the SIFMA Foundation’s annual Tribute Dinner in October. In addition, his alma mater, the University of Notre Dame, established the Paul E. Purcell Professorship and the Paul Purcell Frontlines Endowment for Excellence, made possible with the support of the Purcell family and a gift of $1 million from Baird, Baird Foundation and Baird associates. All of us at Baird are proud to carry on Paul’s commitment to the communities we live in.
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