Open MenuHide Menu
  • Careers
    • About Vanguard
    • Pressroom
    • Other Vanguard Sites
    • Personal Investors
    • Retirement Plan Participants
    • Institutional Investors
    • Financial Advisors
    • Non-U.S. Investors
    • Small Business Online
    • My Plan Manager
    • Institutional Trading
Vanguard
Vanguard Careers
  • About Vanguard
  • Why Vanguard
  • Our Teams
    • Client Services
    • Corporate Support
    • Data & Analytics
    • Financial Advisor & Investment Management
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Technology
  • Students & Recent Graduates
    • EXPLORE Days
    • Internships
    • Client Services
    • Information Technology
    • Leadership Development Programs
    • MBA Programs
    • Events
  • Careers Blog
  • Job Search
Making a difference across multiple regions

Making a difference across multiple regions

Vanguard believes that being a global leader also means being a local leader.  Through volunteer Investment Committees, The Vanguard Group Foundation is making grants in the regions around the world that we call home.  The Vanguard Gives Back Hometown Grants Program is charged with funding pressing, local human services needs and working with nonprofit partners that contribute to the vibrancy of the community.  The program is fueled by crew volunteers who commit two years of service dedicated to learning about the nonprofit sector, philanthropy, and the local community landscape.

In this blog, we asked three Vanguard leaders to write about their experiences in serving as site leads for the Hometown Grants Program. The combined efforts of these leaders and their teams have placed $2.3 million into local organizations over their two-year commitment. Here is what Amanda M. from Arizona, Ed F. from North Carolina, and Steve H. from Pennsylvania, had to say:

Vanguard has long had a culture around community that you are no stranger to, what drew you into this particular opportunity with Hometown Grants?

Ed: Hometown Grants enabled me to take my passion for impacting our local community to a much deeper, grass-roots level.  Having previously been involved in Vanguard Gives Back initiatives in Charlotte, including leading our workplace giving campaign and our volunteer efforts, Hometown Grants provided an opportunity to start-up a hyper-local focused program from scratch, which is pretty cool.  While we were provided with some loose guardrails and guidelines, we were also given a significant amount of autonomy to figure out the best strategy that would have meaningful impact in the Charlotte community.

Steve: In 2012, I had the honor of serving as the lead for the crew fall charitable giving campaign. Not only did that experience tap into my longstanding passion for service, it opened my eyes to the incredible impact Vanguard can have in the community. I was very excited about the Hometown Grants program because it was yet another way to harness the energy and passion of Vanguard crew to make a meaningful difference in our communities, but I was also intrigued by the entrepreneurial nature of this new venture.

What skills have you developed through your participation in this initiative and how have you applied these skills both inside and outside of the office?

Amanda: Debating which organization to fund can be a sensitive and emotional topic. My peers and I all have preferences on which charitable cause is the most important and those often differ from the priorities of others. Plus, when you find so many organizations doing great work, it can be hard to reduce the list to a manageable few. Learning how to listen with empathy and understanding was critical to ensure each team member was heard and team health remained strong. Outside of work, it has given me a platform to talk to my kids about philanthropy. Now, when we debrief our day at the dinner table, I am talking to them about organizations I went to visit or work that is being done in the community. It’s been rewarding to talk to them about the importance of giving back and about some of the neat initiatives that are happening in our neighborhood.

Ed: Most importantly, I gained a deeper understanding of the Charlotte community and the critical issues our city is facing.  Upward mobility remains a challenge even as Charlotte continues to have one of the highest rates of highly educated new residents moving to our city.  I have met and learned from some very influential non-profit partners who provide critical services in our community often with few resources or limited budgets.  I am looking forward to continuing my work post-Hometown Grants, whether it be through volunteerism or board involvement.  Hometown Grants also enabled me to hone my leadership and finance skills as we have conducted research, reviewed non-profit financials and tax-filings, and conducted on-site visits to select the non-profit agencies we partner with.

What has been the biggest takeaway in serving as a site lead for the program?

Amanda: There is always a need for more work to be done in the community than there are hours in the day to support or dollars to fund. It is not hard to find an important cause that will improve our community. The hard part is prioritizing which organizations to focus on. It took a lot of time to research, really get to know these teams and the impact they are trying to make. Then ultimately determining where we could have the biggest impact. And there is no “right” answer. It is only part science, the rest is art.

Steve: In the past two years, the work of the Hometown Grants team exposed us to countless organizations that are making an incredible difference in communities. There are so many worthy, effective, innovative charitable organizations out there doing great work, we could have funded many more groups than we were able to. But I believe our team did a tremendous job of honing in on the key organizations that both had amazing impact and could best benefit from the dollars we had. The most rewarding parts of the job were when we heard the profound gratitude from these groups for our contributions, and the excitement they expressed about how they were going to put the money to work. You feel the very tangible benefit of all the hard work the committee put in.


More careers blogs about Vanguard in the community

Why you should raise your hand for that volunteer opportunity at work

Serving in both my day job and night job

It’s the season of giving at Vanguard

Recent Posts

  • More than just a milestone
  • My career in Personal Advisor Services
  • Vanguard’s Community Stewardship impact
  • Our top careers blogs from 2020
  • Vanguard’s season of giving
Search Jobs

Share this entry

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Linkedin

More career blogs you may have missed

#LifeAtVanguard

Vanguard at Toigo's Groundbreakers
Culture, Diversity & inclusion

Crew review of Toigo Groundbreakers Women in Leadership Summit

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/12/Vanguard_TOIGO_banner-02-640x480-1.jpg 480 640 marcin https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png marcin2020-12-02 19:38:112020-12-02 19:38:25Crew review of Toigo Groundbreakers Women in Leadership Summit
Culture, Diversity & inclusion

Making virtual connections

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/11/dujuan_ayesha_640x480.jpg 480 640 marcin https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png marcin2020-11-05 15:12:452020-11-05 15:12:45Making virtual connections
Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

A look back on Hispanic Heritage Month

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/10/Illeana_featured.jpg 480 640 mfield https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png mfield2020-10-21 06:32:302020-10-22 19:04:32A look back on Hispanic Heritage Month
Dan Simon
Diversity & inclusion

National Coming Out Day 2020

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/10/Dan_Simon_featured.jpg 480 640 jortega https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png jortega2020-10-07 04:59:452020-10-07 04:59:45National Coming Out Day 2020
Culture, Diversity & inclusion

Managing it all while working from home with small children

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/RP2640x480.jpg 480 640 marcin https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png marcin2020-07-08 15:03:262020-07-09 11:22:44Managing it all while working from home with small children
Career opportunities, Diversity & inclusion

Personal Advisor Services establishes essential partnerships with Vanguard’s Crew Resource Groups

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/06/banner-image-640x480-1.png 480 640 marcin https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png marcin2020-06-30 17:25:072020-07-06 19:30:17Personal Advisor Services establishes essential partnerships with Vanguard’s Crew Resource Groups
Alice-wedding-Featured
Culture, Diversity & inclusion

A voyage of discovery

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/06/Alice-wedding-Featured.jpg 480 640 kkilgarriff https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png kkilgarriff2020-06-17 12:14:192020-06-17 16:15:36A voyage of discovery
photo of woman smiling
Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Managing it all while working from home

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/05/THUMB1.jpg 480 640 fanwar https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png fanwar2020-06-03 12:46:332020-06-17 19:11:12Managing it all while working from home
Memorial Day Remember and Honor
Diversity & inclusion, In the community

VetsConnect celebrates Memorial Day

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/05/Memorial-Day-Image-640-by-480.png 480 640 deepikasharma https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png deepikasharma2020-05-27 11:21:122020-06-17 19:14:06VetsConnect celebrates Memorial Day
Advice from crew, Diversity & inclusion all

Reduce the effects of social distancing by reinforcing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/04/Featured_640x480_RTL15C_010.jpg 480 640 ldoyle https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png ldoyle2020-04-15 20:15:052020-06-17 19:48:42Reduce the effects of social distancing by reinforcing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Vanguard Orion Client Center seating area
Culture, Our mission all

How Vanguard prepares for the unexpected

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/03/Vanguard_Client-center_Video-wall_Seating-area_Featured_640x480.jpg 480 640 ldoyle https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png ldoyle2020-03-20 18:09:572020-06-17 19:47:06How Vanguard prepares for the unexpected
International Women's Day at Vanguard
Culture, Our mission, Voyage to Vanguard all

Diverse perspectives in Vanguard's Investment Management Group

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/03/InternationalWomensDay2020_Featured_640x480.jpg 480 640 ldoyle https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png ldoyle2020-03-04 17:26:042020-06-17 19:50:29Diverse perspectives in Vanguard's Investment Management Group
Volunteers pose for group photo
Culture, Diversity & inclusion, In the community all

Vanguard celebrates MLK and Black History Month through service

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/02/20200208_144531_Featured_640x480.jpg 480 640 ldoyle https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png ldoyle2020-02-26 18:51:062020-06-17 19:52:39Vanguard celebrates MLK and Black History Month through service
Model ship displayed alongside of various awards
Accolades & Recognition, Culture, Diversity & inclusion all

Vanguard shines as a top employer

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/02/Awards-2_FeaturedImage_640x480.jpg 480 640 ldoyle https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png ldoyle2020-02-12 14:10:122020-06-17 19:53:56Vanguard shines as a top employer
(Left to right) John Ameriks, Jean Lu, and Tim Buckley discuss Future of Work
Advice from crew, Diversity & inclusion, Our mission all

The Future of Work

https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/01/LEAP-Event-1_640x480.jpg 480 640 ldoyle https://cdn-static.findly.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/841/2020/07/VG_WM_S_RGB_v3.png ldoyle2020-01-15 14:38:482020-06-17 19:55:03The Future of Work
PreviousNext
  • Linkedin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Twitter
  • Site Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Cookie Policy
  • Careers
  • FAQs
  • Sitemap
Vanguard
© 1995–2021 The Vanguard Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Your use of this site signifies that you accept our terms and conditions of use. - Enfold-Hodes-Accessible Theme by Kriesi
  • Site Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Vanguard’s support in my family’s adoption experience Vanguard adoption support story Vanguard's mission statement featured on lobby wall Transforming the world of advice
We use cookies to personalize your experience on this website. By continuing to browse on our site accept Vanguard’s Cookie Policy.OK
Scroll to top