04 PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR COMMUNITIES
Giving back is second nature to us. We are dedicated to helping improve the communities where we live and work.
The Patterson Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation established by former Patterson executives in 2004 and overseen by a senior manager at our company.
The Patterson Foundation receives donations from Patterson, its employees and many partners. It also raises funds through vendor-sponsored events such as an annual golf tournament.
Employees are a central part of the Foundation’s work. The Foundation’s board of directors consists of current and retired Patterson employees. Three seats on the board are held by Patterson’s CEO, the president of Patterson Dental and the president of Patterson Veterinary. The remaining members are elected based on their skillsets and connections with stakeholders.
Patterson employees and retirees also volunteer on a committee that reviews grant applications. The committee includes representatives from the sales teams from each division who are the most familiar with local non-profit organizations, and other Patterson employees. Patterson team members also play a role in identifying candidates for funding.
We track the Foundation’s impact through yearly reports from grantees.
As a private grantmaking organization, the Foundation must give away at least 5% of its total assets each year. The Patterson Foundation aims to exceed this target by donating 6 to 7% of its assets each year.
Patterson’s corporate giving is guided by our local teams, as each Patterson location has the opportunity to manage its own grantmaking budget. This is essential to our role as a community partner for local response organizations in cases of natural disasters and other urgent relief needs.
In FY24, we developed a company-wide Charitable Giving Policy on both monetary and in-kind donations. The policy expresses the importance of corporate giving and provides guidance for employees on participating in our giving programs. The policy also specifies the types of organizations and activities that would not represent a qualified non-profit, such as those that discriminate or pursue divisive public agendas.
Each Patterson location tracks its contributions through our charitable donations system.
In partnership with other members of the Minnesota Council of Foundations, Patterson has set a target of giving away 1 to 2% of its pretax dollars in cash, in-kind contributions and employee volunteer projects. Our target exceeds the national rate of corporate giving of 0.8 to 1%. To demonstrate our success against this goal, we are working to expand our capacity to track each location’s contributions.
At Patterson, we strive to put people first – especially when most needed. Patterson’s giving and community involvement initiatives are designed to support the needs of the communities in which we live and work and the industries we serve. We prioritize dental and animal health as areas that align with our business and strategic focus. We also take into consideration causes and organizations that our employees recommend.
We also conduct dozens of events each year to stimulate fundraising or volunteer projects from employees and wider contributors.
Patterson conducts our charitable giving in four ways, each providing unique opportunities to support our local communities and engage our employees. First, we make financial contributions to support non-profit organizations in communities where Patterson has a presence. These organizations include animal humane societies and sponsors of free dental clinics and other community programs.
We also sponsor specific events or other programs led by non-profit organizations in communities where we have a presence, with a priority for organizations that benefit dental and animal health.
Third, we provide disaster relief funding in the communities where we operate. All Patterson locations can partner with their local non-profit organizations and participate in disaster relief efforts. Finally, we make in-kind donations (of non-prescription products) to support non-profit organizations in communities where Patterson has a presence.
Each year, our employee giving and volunteering efforts culminate in a Giving Week. The all-company event across the U.S. and Canada encourages each Patterson location to decide how it will participate by identifying non-profit organizations and causes that are meaningful to them and their communities.
In FY24, we held our fifth annual Giving Week. It kicked off with a “Great Shave Off” to spark donations that raised almost $6,000 for two charities in South Carolina. Our silent auction raised its highest amount ever. Teams in Minneapolis, Houston, Loveland and elsewhere contributed by packing dental hygiene supplies, sorting food donations and mobilizing construction volunteers.
Since 2019, Patterson and the Patterson Foundation have donated over $532,795 in cash, in-kind products and volunteer hours through the annual Giving Week alone.
America’s Dentists Care Foundation (Dental Mission of Mercy), Patterson Dental and the Patterson Foundation have donated more than $1 million (the Foundation has granted $450,000 since 2016) to the ADCF, a driving force in bringing dental care to underserved populations across the U.S. Recently, Patterson volunteers traveled to St. Cloud, Minnesota, to help with Mission of Mercy’s free dental clinic that provides dental care and procedures to those who otherwise would not be able to obtain them. To help make the event a success, Patterson provided supplies, merchandise, equipment/technology, technicians and on-the-ground volunteers.
“I think this clinic encompasses everything that Patterson is,” shares volunteer and Minnesota sales representative Danielle Carlson. “We are a people-first company and this is at the forefront of everything we want to do. We want to be able to give back but also support our doctors, hygienists and everyone else who is offering their time to this cause.”
As the title sponsor of America’s ToothFairy, Patterson Dental and the Patterson Foundation have donated more than $2 million in cash and in-kind donations since 2004. Patterson and the Patterson Foundation sponsor the Smile Guardian Food Bank and Afterschool Program Initiative, which helped 40,000 kids across 21 states learn about the importance of a healthy smile. The sponsorship also supported “safety net” dental clinics in participating states by supplying them with dental products, including 25,000 toothbrushes, as well as educational materials.
donated by Patterson Dental and the Patterson Foundation in cash and in-kind donations since 2004
children received oral health services from National Children’s Oral Health Foundation’s mobile dental clinic partners in 2023
Volunteering is in our DNA at Patterson. Our employees are active members of the communities where they live and work. Each year, our employees donate thousands of hours to make a positive difference. We support this commitment by offering programs that encourage involvement, such as:
Volunteer time off Employees may take up to eight hours of paid time off per year to work with local non-profit organizations or educational institutions. Employees can volunteer individually or as a team with other Patterson employees.
Team service hours We encourage employees to volunteer as a team and provide unlimited hours in paid time off to do so.
Dollars for Doers, funded by the Patterson Foundation and discussed earlier in this chapter, further incentivizes employees to take action in their communities.
We aim to have 5% of Patterson employees volunteer each year, a target we surpassed in FY24. We are also working to expand capacity to track employees’ community engagement outside work hours.
