Hearst announces first-ever Community Engagement Report

While Hearst had been doing that for well over a century, the roundtable’s new stance prompted leadership to ponder ways to better convey those efforts to employees and the public. But then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, creating an even greater need for Hearst to empower its workers, including ones at the Houston Chronicle, with volunteer opportunities and philanthropic support.

Now, four years later after the Business Roundtable declaration, the company is conveying all that work in one place. On Monday, Hearst announced the release of its first-ever Community Engagement Report, providing an overview of the company’s philanthropic efforts, civic partnerships, and employee volunteering and giving, plus a deep dive into Hearst’s history of doing all the aforementioned.

“Employees felt that they see the company’s values, but they don’t always know the details. And people who want to work for us in the future want to know what the company stands for,” said David Carey, Hearst Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications. “Hopefully, the Hearst Community Engagement Report addresses this in a very elegant manner.”

Hearst Gives Back, the company’s charitable giving and volunteerism branch, offers a 100% match on charitable gifts up to $10,000 annually per employee. Since the initiative’s launch in 2021, more than $13 million has been donated to 6,000 non-profit organizations. In 2022, Hearst employees volunteered more than 21,000 hours of community service. 

A major goal is to make those opportunities more accessible, and the new report is designed to help spread the word. 

“Our company is now so broad and diverse in our businesses, sometimes people don’t know what’s going on — ranging from current employees to future employees and business partners,” Carey said. “We’re celebrating 136 years of corporate responsibility. It’s in the air here, and part of what we do.”

Hearst has a long history of community involvement. In 1897, Phoebe Apperson Hearst co-created the National Parent Teacher Association, known as the PTA today, during a meeting of the National Congress of Mothers in Washington, D.C. Her son, William Randolph Hearst, had founded Hearst 10 years prior.

In 1960, the Hearst Journalism Awards Program was founded to support journalism education at the college and university level via scholarships, with matching grants, to participating schools.

Hearst’s relationship with United Way dates back to 1997, beginning with a charity drive that has since become an annual tradition. Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston, a United Way agency, received a grant from Hearst Foundations in 2020 that helped pilot a Refugee Youth Mentorship program.

In other instances, Hearst responded to immediate crises close to home.