NAPEO
A core value at TriNet is “make an impact.”
The many small and mid-size businesses TriNet serves through its HR services have felt that impact when it comes to business growth and innovation. But a growing impact has also been felt in the many communities and causes TriNet serves — all across the U.S.
In the summer of 2020, the Dublin, California-based PEO rallied to create a new approach to how it historically donated and volunteered. TriNet had always embraced a giving mindset, but the socially and culturally historic times called for fresh ideas. How could it help small and mid-size businesses while also giving its civic-minded employees the opportunity to support meaningful organizations?
Out of those conversations came the TriNet Foundation, a donor-advised fund that benefits veterans, historically underrepresented businesses, trade schools and entrepreneurial education programs across the U.S. Its mission, as TriNet Chief People Officer Catherine Wragg says, is to improve humanity by creating, expanding and amplifying volunteerism.
Officially launched in April 2021, the foundation makes quarterly donations to nonprofit recipients reviewed and green lit by TriNet’s philanthropic committee to ensure they align with the company’s charter. Most importantly, they are intended to provide maximum positive impact in groups that stand to benefit the most.
“We want TriNet to be a company that serves through giving,” Wragg said. “By giving, we will have a lasting and positive impact on our colleagues, customers and the communities in which we operate.”
By design, beneficiaries over the past four years have run the gamut in the causes they serve, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Institute for Entrepreneurial Development to name a few.
Since its launch in 2021, the TriNet Foundation has benefited a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, including the National Association of Women Business Owners.
Its first donation went to Black Girl Ventures, an organization that provides funding for Black and Brown female entrepreneurs. From there, the foundation has continued to expand in scope, including with NAWBO, where the partnership has evolved into collaborative thought leadership, training programs, volunteer opportunities and educational resources to build a legacy of success for the next generation of female leaders. It’s also worked with Hire Heroes USA to help veterans succeed in the civilian workforce, as well as with StartOut, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ entrepreneur nonprofit, to boost its mentorship program.
And with the NAACP, TriNet has used its means to support Black business owners and entrepreneurs, while also advocating for economic policies to help communities of color.
“We’ve been fortunate in that most of our grantees have afforded us the ability to volunteer in a variety of ways, from skill-based volunteering to participating in organized walks,” Wragg said.
The TriNet Foundation is a central component of the company’s corporate social responsibility program, which also includes the TriNet Volunteers program that provides employees time to volunteer with entrepreneurial nonprofits. The multi-pronged approach has enabled TriNet’s nonprofit giving efforts to reach many pockets of the U.S., as well as overseas with organizations like the International Red Cross and the Ganges Fund in India.
To help create that lasting and positive impact on its colleagues, TriNet recently launched the TriNet Colleague Assistance Fund, designed to help employees weather significant financial hardships caused by major federal disasters or personal challenges like accidents, illnesses, natural disasters, crime or house fires. The colleague fund builds on its already-existing Disaster Relief Program to further support for its employees across the U.S., Canada, India and Poland.
The TriNet Foundation is always looking for ways to evolve, and with four years under its belt helping the LGBTQ community, it is undergoing a reflection point in 2025, Wragg said.
No matter how the TriNet Foundation continues to evolve in the months and years to come, it will surely make an impact.
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