Marc Byrnes believes in the power of community, and it has shaped how he leads Oswald Cos. as chairman and CEO.
Byrnes has made commitment to community one of his company’s four core values. Employees at Oswald can serve different causes within the community, but an emphasis on community service is the standard that Byrnes wants everyone at Oswald to embrace.
The firm’s commitment to community takes on many forms, including service, charity, philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Oswald Cos. has a dedicated nonprofit practice that serves more than 250 clients and provides them the same level of risk consulting and brokered services that are enjoyed by the firm’s Fortune 500 clients.
Byrnes’ firm commits more than 5 percent of its pretax income to financially supporting more than 100 local charities. Employees give personally, as well, as the firm has participated as a United Way pacesetter since 2004, growing its patronage annually, to more than $110,000 in the current campaign.
But the firm’s commitment to community goes beyond writing checks or payroll deductions. At least once a year, a local charity is the recipient of Oswald’s “day of caring,” during which employees offer their time to paint, clean and make other site improvements at a local community center. Beneficiaries have included Boys and Girls Club, Neighborhood Family Center and Camp Cheerful.
Along with cash, time and labor, Oswald’s team also invests its leadership in the community. Nearly 40 of the firm’s employees serve as trustees or advisers for 70 nonprofit organizations. Some of the firm’s younger professionals founded “PHrends of Providence House” in 2009. The group is charged with raising awareness among area professionals age 20 to 40 about the vital role the crisis nursery plays when caring for infants and toddlers as their families face difficult health, economic and other life situations.
Byrnes sets the tone for Oswald’s community involvement from the top of the organization. Byrnes served as co-chairman of the 2009-2010 annual fundraising campaign for the United Way of Greater Cleveland. Teaming with Sherwin Williams CEO Christopher Connor, Byrnes helped to expand the campaign’s donor base by reaching out to employers who had never been lobbied before. The resulting contributions from the added donors allowed the United Way to meet its fundraising goal for the fifth time in the past 15 years.
How to reach: Oswald Cos. (216) 367-8787 or www.oswaldcompanies.com
