Philanthropic endeavors are hardly a new phenomenon for retailers, suppliers or NACS. NACS formed its original charitable foundation—the Convenience Store Foundation for Education and Research—in the early 1990s.
Several years ago, though, NACS spotted an opportunity to revamp not just the foundation’s name and logo but also how it worked with the broader industry. Stephanie Sikorski, NACS vice president of marketing, led the charge by interviewing NACS members to determine how the foundation could better work for them. One of the major takeaways was that though convenience retailers were making great investments in numerous causes, there was a clear desire for an organization that could unify and promote those efforts.
Whether you’re a convenience store, a supplier or a consumer, you’re part of the same community.
“There wasn’t a shared mechanism for retailers to collaborate, communicate and celebrate,” she said. “The whole idea for the foundation was we can be the megaphone for the industry.” So, NACS set to rebranding the foundation as the NACS Foundation and identifying the right areas to focus its efforts.
The NACS Foundation wasn’t the only industry group turning its focus to a unified philanthropic program. At the same time, the NACS Supplier Board was working on its own project, spearheaded by Rick Brindle, vice president of industry development at Mondelz International.
It started with a spreadsheet, outlining the charities NACS retail members were involved with and charities with which supplier members were involved.
“What I saw was a common thread between what NACS was doing and what many of our supplier member companies were doing,” Brindle said, noting that suppliers often had board seats on some of the NACS-supported charities.
When Sikorski presented the new NACS Foundation’s areas of focus to the NACS Supplier Board, the two parties discovered that the Foundation’s list was almost identical to the areas of overlap Brindle had identified in his spreadsheet.
“It was obvious to me that we were going in parallel paths, though we’d gotten there in different ways,” Brindle recalls.
The question Brindle and Sikorski faced was, "What now?”
“We were trying to do the exact same thing,” said Sikorski. “Did it really make sense to go down different paths, or was there an opportunity to really align? How do we build this together?”
When you get the collective engagement of retailers and manufacturers, I think you’re going to see all kinds of ideas pop.
Neighborhood Focus, National Impact
The starting point for building the NACS Foundation with the Supplier Board on board was to take a long list of overlapping efforts and cull that into a set of focus areas.
Though five focus areas were eventually identified, a clear theme emerged: The convenience industry works best with efforts that have a direct impact on local communities but are supported by a national organization for maximum impact.
“It really does come down to the neighborhood level,” said Katrina Briddell, manager of global sustainability and social impact for The Hershey Company. “Whether you’re a convenience store, a supplier or a consumer, you’re part of the same community. You’re seeing this every day, whether it’s the basic needs of disaster responders, supporting kids facing hunger or trying to keep your neighborhood beautiful.”
Here’s a look at those community-centric areas of focus identified by the NACS Foundation and how NACS suppliers are already supporting those programs:
Response Relief: Aiding Disaster Relief and Serving First Responders
A natural partner for disaster relief is clearly the American Red Cross, a charity that responds to more than 62,000 disasters every year. It’s a charity that numerous suppliers already work with, including Altria, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Mondelēz, PepsiCo and Reynolds American Inc. In fact, Anheuser-Busch Better World Vice President Adam Warrington said the company’s partnership with the Red Cross dates back to 1906, and the company has donated more than 81 million cans of clean drinking water since 1988.
Neighborhood Nourish: Caring for Neighbors
Food insecurity is certainly a community issue: The NACS charity partner for this initiative—Feeding America—reports that 1 in 8 Americans struggles with hunger across every county in the United States. It’s no surprise that many of the foodservice and confectioner-centric convenience suppliers have supported Feeding America, including Campbell’s, Kellogg’s, Kraft, Mars/Wrigley, Mondelēz and Tyson. In addition to company-wide donations, The Hershey Company has worked specifically with convenience retailers on a million-meal pledge initiative to support Feeding America and local food banks.
Future Fund: Propelling Tomorrow’s Leaders
An extension of the former Convenience Store Foundation for Education and Research, the NACS Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $400,000 in scholarships to NACS retail member employees. It’s supported by supplier partners like Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr. Pepper and Mondelēz. “We strive to have a positive impact on people in all the communities connected to our business,” said Jay Ard, vice president of industry affairs at Coca-Cola North America. “We are committed to caring for the people who make our success possible.”
Tomorrow Thrives: Supporting Healthy Kids
During the past several years, countless NACS members have signed on with the Partnership for a Healthier America to help combat the fact that nearly 1 in 3 American children and adolescents is overweight or obese—and suppliers are no exception. Aquafina, Coca-Cola, the Dannon Company, Mars, Mondelēz, Nestlé Waters and PepsiCo are all involved with the organization. Coke, Dr. Pepper and Pepsi took it a step further by launching Beverage Calories Initiative, which aims to reduce by 20% the average beverage calories consumed per person by 2025.
Community Cleanup: Keeping Our Towns Beautiful
There is clearly a trash problem in the United States, with NACS Foundation partner Keep America Beautiful reporting that the more than 51 billion pieces of litter on our roadways cost $11.5 billion annually to clean up. Many NACS suppliers have lent a hand to cleanup efforts, with several serving on the Keep America Beautiful board, including Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Mars/Wrigley, Nestlé Waters and PepsiCo. In terms of specific efforts, Coca-Cola has provided more than 37,000 public space recycling bins, and Keurig Dr. Pepper’s partnership with the charity has collected 1.8 million pounds of recyclable products.
Convenience Cares
The NACS Foundation targets five critical focus areas through its signature programs.
Response Relief
Aiding Disaster Relief and Serving First Responders
NACS Foundation honors the heroes and first responders who keep our communities safe at c-stores across the country and collects money for our disaster relief fund.
Neighborhood Nourish
Caring for Neighbors
NACS Foundation fights hunger by collecting donations for local food banks and participating in volunteer activities to help people experiencing homelessness or food insecurity.
Future Fund
Propelling Tomorrow’s Leaders
NACS Foundation invests in future leaders through scholarship and internship programs offered to c-store member employees and their children.
Tomorrow Thrives
Supporting Healthy Kids
NACS Foundation raises money and awareness to fight childhood disease, supports children and families affected by illness and encourages kids of all ages to live active lifestyles.
Community Cleanup
Keeping Our Towns Beautiful
NACS Foundation hosts an annual cleanup day in neighborhoods across America to keep our communities beautiful, raise awareness about environmental issues and elevate community pride.
From Focus to Action
July 24, 2019, marked the first major event of the newly branded NACS Foundation: 24/7 Day, a day to support the Response Relief focus by honoring first responders and raising money for disaster relief.
“This was a way for us to celebrate the fact that we’re open 24/7 and because of that, we can help support disaster relief and be the first supporters for first responders,” Sikorski said. “Because we operate that way, we’re able to make an impact.”
The ambitious event was put together in a shockingly short amount of time, with conversations beginning in February 2019. Yet by July 24, three major retailers—RaceTrac, Sheetz and Wawa—had signed up to serve free coffee and meals to first responders and raise money for the American Red Cross.
“When you consider the lack of lead time, that demonstrates the passion our retail members have toward these community efforts and how quickly they can move,” said Brindle. “If we can augment that with supplier support, there’s a huge opportunity.”
As such, the Supplier Board has united with the NACS Foundation to develop a 24/7 Day-type signature event for each of the Foundation’s five focus areas.
The events will take place at retail locations, and Sikorski sees several opportunities for suppliers to support the efforts by developing programs, collecting donations, producing t-shirts or other promotional items or onboarding other suppliers.
Anheuser-Busch has donated more than 81 million cans of clean drinking water since 1988 via its partnership with the Red Cross.
“When you get the collective engagement of retailers and manufacturers, I think you’re going to see all kinds of ideas pop,” Brindle said.
Perhaps the most powerful aspect of 24/7 Day was that kind of collective engagement, even among the fiercest competitors. “For one day, it’s not Sheetz vs. Wawa, it’s Sheetz working with Wawa,” said Sikorski.
The power of competitors working side-by-side for the common good resonates equally on the supplier side, where companies that are contractually prohibited from appearing on the same stage as a competitor are willing to make an exception when philanthropy is involved.
Any meaningful impact has to look outside of what just one supplier can do alone.
“You really cannot make an impact without collaboration,” said Briddell of Hershey’s. “Any recipe for meaningful impact has to look outside of what just one organization can do alone. These issues are all bigger than us.”
This commitment is echoed by Brindle, who said he’s “nothing but excited” about working with any and all suppliers and retailers looking to support these initiatives. Support, he said, the Supplier Board is committed to for the long haul. While most Supplier Board projects last a year, the NACS Foundation initiative will be ongoing.
Suppliers big and small are ready to meet that challenge. As Warrington of Anheuser-Busch put it, “we know that when our communities thrive, our business thrives.”