United Way of Central Iowa

Principal Financial Group Presented with Two Summit Awards

United Way of America (UWA) honored the Principal Financial Group® as a Summit Award recipient of its coveted Spirit of America® Award program, recognizing the company’s outstanding commitment to improve lives in local communities. UWA recognized The Principal® at its national United Way Community Leaders Conference in Grapevine, Texas, as a Summit Award recipient for Employee Community Engagement and Employee Community Investment.

“In our first year of entering the Spirit of America awards, we are extremely honored to be recognized in this way by the United Way of America,” said J. Barry Griswell, chairman and chief executive officer, the Principal Financial Group. “Winning a Summit Award for both volunteerism and our employee-run fundraising campaign is a testament to the loyalty our employees have for their local communities. The Principal has a deep-rooted commitment to the communities where our employees live and work and having our employees recognized for demonstrating that same behavior is a win for us all.”

The Principal Volunteer Network, formed in 1972, is the oldest corporate volunteer program in Iowa. The Principal Volunteer Network has been recognizing outstanding volunteers for more than 18 years and facilitates thousands of hours of employee volunteerism each year. The Principal offers a benefit called Volunteer Time Off, to support and encourage employee volunteerism. Employees receive eight hours of Volunteer Time Off per calendar year to use at the not-for-profit organization of their choice.

As part of 125th anniversary celebration of The Principal in 2004, the company sponsored “125 Ways to Care,” a community focused day for employees to participate in one of 125 community service projects in Des Moines. The company offered employees two additional hours of paid time off, and nearly 800 employees took the opportunity to serve community organizations.

In addition to the Spirit of America Award and the Summit Awards to The Principal, United Way presented Summit Awards to Cargill for Community Leadership and Employee Community Engagement.

United Way of Central Iowa Exceeds $18.5 Million Goal
7.8 percent increase over 2003

United Way of Central Iowa announced today it will surpass the ambitious goal set in June, raising $18,550,603 to help the community address critical human care issues. Last year, the annual United Way campaign raised $17.2 million.
Tom West, vice president at Pioneer Hi-bred Intl., and chair of the 2004 campaign said, “Central Iowa’s generosity is remarkable. It is humbling to see the power of our community’s commitment to caring for its own by pooling its resources through United Way to solve its problems together.”
The 2004 campaign boasts over 1,200 workplace campaigns and more than 50,000 individual givers. At least 125 organizations ran campaigns for the first time.

“Great campaigns result from the hard work of thousands of people. But no one has worked harder than Tom West, and we couldn’t be happier for him and his campaign cabinet of over 100 community leaders” said Shannon Cofield, president of United Way of Central Iowa.
“We are grateful that donors recognize that their money is well invested in the community with us,” Cofield added, “and that United Way continues to serve as a central meeting place for all of Central Iowa to join in work that one person, or one agency, can’t do alone. I believe in that kind of work – fundamentally improving the way our children are prepared to enter kindergarten, ensuring youth achieve success in school and helping families become economically self-sufficient.”

- Bill and Susan Knapp, Jim and Patty Cownie and Marvin and Rose Lee Pomerantz increased their gifts to $100,000. This represented a net increase of $150,000. These couples join the ranks of Barry and Michele Griswell and Maddie Levitt.

- Pacesetter companies raised $1.8 to jumpstart the campaign. Baker Electric, Faegre & Benson, Weitz, Meredith Corporation, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Intl. and Farm Bureau Insurance Group held early campaigns and surpassed a collective 20% increase in their respective campaigns over 2003.

- Central Iowa’s United Way will again have significantly more members of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society with 160 members, an increase of 41 new members, representing over $2.5 million of the total campaign. Alexis de Tocqueville members give $10,000 or more annually.

- Our very successful Women’s Leadership Initiative for Early Childhood also grew tremendously. 134 women made lead gifts of $2,500 and over 700 other women contributed $1,000 or more.

- Over 100 people joined United Way’s new program this year, the Emerging Leaders Initiative, to engage a previously untapped group of younger donors in the work of United Way.

Doug Reichardt, CEO of Holmes Murphy, is the 2005 United Way of Central Iowa campaign chair. In addition, United Way of America has asked J. Barry Griswell, CEO of Principal Financial Group, to begin a three-year chair of the national Alexis deTocqueville program for in 2005.
United Way of Central Iowa’s mission is to measurably improve the condition of people’s lives.

United Way of Central Iowa is the best non-profit organization, the best community board to sit on, and the best charity to give to in Central Iowa according to readers of the Des Moines Business Record.

United Way of Central Iowa has had a long-standing, rich relationship with the community in terms of their involvement and engagement, and United Way has been very effective in making a measurable difference in the lives of people in Central Iowa.

Having a board where everyone is fully engaged in the organization's mission - uniting the community in measurably improving the condition of people's lives - helps United Way of Central Iowa achieve results for the community.

The board is engaged in the future and having an impact on the Central Iowa community, focusing on issues such as improving high school graduation rates and early childhood education.

Along with the board, the work of approximately 300 volunteers, on both the fund-raising and investment sides of the operation, help to keep expenses low and maximize the percentage of contributions that can be spent on programs. Ninety cents of every dollar is directly invested in the community.