The Bellingham Business Journal

The employee-directed Charitable Giving Program developed by Saturna Capital Corp. distributed $107,000 to 37 nonprofit organizations in 2010.

Saturna’s 2010 holiday donation program allowed employees to leverage their holiday bonuses for greater impact. All 47 eligible employees were given the choice to direct a charitable donation equal to the amount of their holiday bonus to one nonprofit organization. The employees who chose to forgo a bonus were able to increase their charitable contributions by three-and-a-half times.

“Many sectors of the economy have not rebounded from the recession, and nonprofits are struggling to meet greater demand for services with limited resources,” Saturna President and CEO Jane Carten said in a press release. “We like the idea of encouraging our employees to share responsibility in choosing the beneficiaries of our corporate donations because it fosters the culture of giving we promote as part of our core values.”

Organizations receiving the largest donations include: St. Paul’s Academy ($7,000), the Bellingham Food Bank ($5,500), Make.Shift ($4,500), Mt. Baker Scout Foundation ($4,500), Peaceful Communications ($4,500), and UPLIFT Charity ($4,500).

Since 2008, Saturna employees have directed a total of $284,000 in donations, which included year-end bonuses relinquished by half of the company’s employees.