Trust Point: Meeting fiscal, volunteer needs across communities

Rachel Kroeger

Staff

October 28, 2024

LA CROSSE – From the top floors of skyscrapers in the Twin Cities to the bottom of Grandad Bluff in La Crosse, wealth management company Trust Point has prioritized community philanthropy and connection for more than 100 years.

“We have a purpose at work… but (giving back to the community) is a chance for us to see the greater purposes that are needed,” Angela Strangman, vice president of marketing for Trust Point, said. 

Strangman said last year, across all three Trust Point locations (La Crosse, Eau Claire and Minneapolis), 80% of its staff volunteered 6,000 hours of their time to more than 120 organizations.

“It’s just something that has always been in our roots,” she said. “It’s something we believe (in) strongly – community involvement makes a stronger organization, stronger employees and then helps the communities that we serve.”

Dual-purpose professional growth

Paige Altmann – client development coordinator and current Trust Point Young Professionals (TPYP) member – said, “nothing really shies us away from going to an organization if they have a need and can utilize all of us.”

Comprised of employees under the age of 35 from all three Trust Point locations – Altmann said TPYP is another outlet for the company’s philanthropist mission.

Currently, TPYP has 25 members who meet quarterly for themed networking and volunteer events.

“It’s a really great space for us to all get together and work on these things together with everyone from multiple different locations, multiple different departments,” Altmann said.

For the group’s most recent excursion, 20 of its members volunteered at Aptiv in La Crosse – a local nonprofit founded nearly half a century ago focused on affording people with disabilities the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive on their own.

Altmann said typically, TPYP dedicates two to three hours of every quarterly event to volunteer work – this time helping Aptiv sand and stain tables and organize various equipment.

“Everyone was super appreciative, saying ‘these are tasks that we don’t necessarily have time to get to right now, so it’s great that we have these volunteers to help us out with that,’” she said.

Connecting with colleagues through volunteering isn’t a pleasure saved specifically for TPYP members.

Strangman said the company ensures all of its employees have the chance to give back to their respective communities, if they so choose.

“Last year, we (volunteered) 110 hours in one day in honor of our 110th anniversary,” Strangman said. “So, that was a really cool event… It’s purpose-driven and it’s coming together, and it’s cool to see that we’re all doing it together.”

With three different locations spanning across two states, Strangman said Trust Point employees don’t get to see most of their coworkers regularly – even within the same location.

As a result, she said, an employee’s time volunteering often serves a dual purpose – connecting with different colleagues from across the company’s numerous departments and establishing a sense of comradery with their community.

“Volunteering together allows our staff the opportunity to spend time with individuals they wouldn’t normally spend time with,” Jill Taylor, Trust Point’s chief administrative officer, said.

“It always seems to be a fun, relaxing environment, too,” she said. “I think people just have that opportunity to feel good about what they’re doing for the community, but then also spend a little time engaging with their coworkers.”

Cornerstone of personal, company growth

A culture of volunteerism is a crucial pillar of Trust Point’s company structure, Strangman said, which is based around building trust and relationships in the communities where its employees work and live.

According to the Trust Point website (trustpointinc.com), the founders of the company are known for establishing the La Crosse Community Foundation (originally known as The La Crosse Community Trust) – which is now a separate entity.

The generations-old charitable organization pooled gifts from donors to create now permanent endowment funds whose earnings go toward grants for local nonprofits meeting needs in the community.

Strangman said Trust Point employees volunteer both during company events and their personal time – dedicating themselves to their communities in and out of the office, bolstering both their own and the company’s professional growth.

“I think they see us in the community,” she said. “Having TPYP, and the rest of us, being so dedicated to the company, and having their support behind that community involvement, it’s definitely been important in our success.”

Through the company’s innumerable opportunities to give back, Trust Point employees said they feel the volunteer work they’ve done has made a difference within their communities, their company and themselves.

“We created snack packs for the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club… I was fortunate enough to drop off the packs at the YMCA, and see how excited (the kids) were to receive those and hear the reaction of how much that’s going to impact their group and their community,” Taylor said.

During her time at Aptiv, Altmann said seeing some of the tables before and after they were sanded and stained, “I was very impressed with what we were able to accomplish” in the two hours.

“You just don’t understand the need, until you start talking with those individuals who do see that every day,” Strangman said.

More on Trust Point and its culture of volunteerism can be found on the website.