Each year, GTN hosts a firm-wide annual conference where all US employees as well as certain affiliated foreign offices from around the world, come together for three days to unite as a team and celebrate our accomplishments as a firm. What started as business-focused training in 2008 has evolved into the way we celebrate the past year, strengthen relationships, and give back to the community.
For the 2019 GTN Annual Conference, we wanted to dedicate a significant portion of our time to giving back to our communities. The first day of our conference was spent volunteering at three public schools in St. Paul, MN. We worked together to landscape and clean up their front entrances to get the schools ready for the upcoming school year. After our work there, we spent time at the Xcel Energy Center with United Way and the MN Wild for Action Day 2019. During this event, we worked alongside 4,000 other volunteers to pack 40,000 backpacks that were distributed to students through non-profits and school districts across the metro area.
The following day was also dedicated to giving back. A corporate entertainment group facilitated a fun, energizing, and competitive game show event where participants were put into four teams to try to win money for their teams. Each team was assigned one school through AdoptAClassroom.org, and through the game show activities, they won funds that would be donated to their team’s school. The event was a hit, and GTN was able to donate $10,000 to schools across the United States.
AdoptAClassroom.org is a nonprofit organization with the belief that every child should have equal access to the tools they deserve to be successful in school. AdoptAClassroom.org interviewed us after our event to get insight as to why we chose to support schools in this way. You can read the full interview below.
AdoptAClassroom.org – Employee Fundraising Idea: Gamify Giving
A great employee fundraising idea doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, supporting classrooms can be fun and games. Jen Frentz, Senior Marketing Coordinator of Global Tax Network (GTN), was part of a team that turned their recent fundraiser into a game show style event to support schools in need.
AdoptAClassroom.org: What is GTN and what are some of your values as a company?
Jen Frentz/GTN: GTN is a mobility tax services firm created to bring together companies that require mobility tax services, and the people that can best serve those needs. Oftentimes, a company has a need to send an employee or employees cross borders – either internationally or domestically. When that happens, there are many tax implications that arise, both for the company and the employee. Those implications are very complex and can be overwhelming. We provide services and solutions that simplify a company’s mobility tax program and provide clients with peace of mind that their company and employees remain compliant with global tax authorities.
Our values as a company are centered on a vision to improve the quality of client service in the world of mobility tax. We are proud of having a company culture that is not only focused on the client, but also based on strong core values, shared by employees and global partners alike. We operate based on clients having direct access to the most seasoned mobility tax experts, with a focus solely on providing global mobility tax compliance and consulting services and solutions.
AAC: The average teacher spends $740 a year on school supplies. How do you think we can help them out?
Jen Frentz/GTN: Not only can AdoptAClassroom.org inspire teachers and students and give them hope, you can provide teachers with a way to feel less stress worrying about how they are going to purchase supplies for their classrooms. With less time worrying about the supplies their students need, they can put more time into creating better learning experiences. And by teaming up with communities, we can all take a part in giving back to the teachers, classrooms, and ultimately the students.
AAC: What excited you about working with AdoptAClassroom.org to help students and teachers?
Jen Frentz/GTN: Education plays a vital role in our communities and affects everyone in some capacity; it has the ability to increase income, reduce poverty, and boost economic growth. More importantly, it gives children hope as they learn and plan for a brighter future. It provides individuals with the skills required to face real-life challenges. Education is the reason so many of us on the GTN team are able to solve the complex challenges brought to us by clients, and we are incredibly grateful for our educational opportunities. What AdoptAClassroom.org brings to students and teachers is so beneficial and can provide so many with opportunities they may not have had before. We are excited to be even a small part of that.
AAC: What was your employee fundraising idea? What was successful about it?
Jen Frentz/GTN: Our fundraiser was set up as a game show style event at our employee annual conference. We brought in a corporate entertainment group to facilitate a fun and energizing game show where our employees participated to win money for their team. Each team was assigned one school through AdoptAClassroom.org and they won funds that would then be donated to their team’s school. Our employees had a blast and when we told them the funds would be donated to these schools they were even more excited to participate and win.
AAC: The funds you donated will go to classrooms that need it the most, why was that important to GTN?
Jen Frentz/GTN: Being part of a community means that we stick together and give back where and when we can. Teachers and schools provide a service to our students and community, and we want to help support them in that. If a teacher is struggling to provide for their students, those students will struggle as a result, and there are so many ways we can help. We’re honored that we can be part of such a positive mission.
AAC: Would you work with AdoptAClassroom.org again?
Jen Frentz/GTN: Yes, we would definitely work with AdoptAClassroom.org again. It is a great resource for teachers and schools to get the supplies, tools, and support they need from their communities.
Education affects us all, and there are so many ways we can help. At GTN, we are proud to support education as our social mission. Click here to read more.