Diamond V: Decades of Corporate Kindness
John Bloomhall, Chairman of the Board at Diamond V, knows the Cedar Rapids community has been a big support to their company over the years.
“The Cedar Rapids community has been good to our company for more than 70 years, by providing employees, homes and cultural amenities. When you think about how greatly we have benefited, you feel a strong responsibility to give back and provide those benefits for future generations.”
So over the years, Diamond V—which manufactures yeast supplements and new animal feed technology for the nutritional enhancement of cattle, horse, swine, poultry and pets—has intentionally developed into a wonderful corporate citizen through a donor-advised fund at the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation.
The Community Foundation actually first approached Diamond V in the early 1990s to see if they’d be interested in doing their corporate giving through the Community Foundation.
Bloomhall reflected that there were and still are a number of attractive reasons for them to work with the Community Foundation.
“Having the Community Foundation be the catcher’s mitt for our grantmaking has taken work off my staff,” he said. “They are so knowledgeable and have expanded our giving.
They bring the philanthropic opportunities to us that we may not normally see.” Bloomhall also noted that the Community Foundation sees to the fact that grant moneys are used for their intended purposes.
Diamond V’s first gift to their corporate donor-advised fund at the Community Foundation was made in 1993, with their first grants being distributed in 1994. Over the years, they have given more than $2 million—through more than 450 grants—to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations around the Corridor.
Community Foundation staff members recognize the fact that Diamond V is uniquely flexible with their granting and give where the greatest needs are.
“Diamond V is a generous and thoughtful philanthropic partner in the community,” said Community Foundation Program Officer Elizabeth Cwik. “Their funding runs the gamut from basic health and human service needs to important cultural offerings. They support efforts in their northwest neighborhood as well as scholarships to support students in the field of Animal Science.”
Bloomhall credits the Community Foundation for their flexibility and with helping coordinate and maximize Diamond V’s corporate giving. “We rely on the Foundation for a lot of help and they provide it,” he said. “We have a lot more confidence in doing our corporate giving this way than if we were handling it on our own.”
“In working with the Community Foundation, we can provide maximum benefit for the community and maximum philanthropic dollars for organizations. It’s spectacular.”