Osaic Foundation

Lon, what has been the reaction to our new Foundation following its launch at ConnectED 2023?

We’ve received many warm and welcoming comments from both employees and Financial Professionals, many of whom have offered their expertise and insights on one of our program or event committees. We’re still taking sign-ups, too, to build out a regional presence. The Foundation appears to meet a need and an appetite from Financial Professionals and employees to network with each other, build relationships, and engage in community service together as one Osaic team.

In this edition of the Osaic Foundation newsletter, we share the recipients of the 2023 Local Community Grant Program for Financial Professionals. Tell us about this effort.

This was the first time we’ve had a chance to see the degree of community engagement of our Financial Professionals. More than 75% of the Financial Professionals who applied are members of a charity board of directors and several were founders of charities or boards.

What also jumped out from the data was the many years of engagement with community service. There’s an average of nine years of experience across all grant applicants, and many of them are spending a few hours per month—and some per week—doing charitable work.

Finally, the range of charities our Financial Professionals are hands-on involved in is impressive. Health and human services were the largest category of engagement, followed by civic organizations, education support, and then arts and culture organizations. Again, just really impressive work and involvement.

What can Osaic Financial Professionals and Employees expect in 2024 from the Foundation?

We’re planning several experiential events in locations where we have a large population of Osaic Financial Professionals and Employees, and we’re also initiating our 2024 Local Community Grant Program again in March. We’re also supporting community engagement events at all our major conferences this year, and numerous virtual and remote campaigns. We also expect to donate nearly $1 million to charitable causes that are at the hearts of our Financial Professionals and Employees, like we did in 2023.

It's wonderful to see the impact that the Osaic Foundation has already had, thanks to the Board’s leadership and the efforts of so many Osaic Financial Professionals and Employees. Any parting thoughts?

The many letters of appreciation we are receiving from charities that received grants as part of the 2023 Local Grant Program for Financial Professionals are heartwarming to read, especially when they not only thank us for our grant but point to the expertise and commitment shared by our Financial Professionals and Employees who volunteers. It’s a testament to the type of people that make up our organization and truly sets us apart in the marketplace.

We also heard from our Osaic volunteers how meaningful their volunteer time is to them personally. As one volunteer wrote, “It provides an opportunity to place focus away from myself and onto others. There's nothing more valuable than the gift of your time. Volunteering in my local town gives me the opportunity to change people's lives, including my own.”