Wellmark employees volunteer more than 36,000 hours on their own time each
year with qualifying organizations in Iowa and South Dakota. The Foundation
matches these hours with monetary contributions to the employees’ designated
charitable or educational organizations. For every four hours an employee
volunteers, the employee can designate funding to the qualifying nonprofit of his
or her choice.
The Wellmark Foundation also matches Wellmark employees’ personal
contributions to eligible nonprofit organizations through the ongoing Matching
Gifts Program and the annual Payroll Deduction Campaign. The annual
maximum amount per employee for both volunteer designations and matching
gifts is $10,000.
In order for Wellmark employees’ personal volunteer time (PVT) and
matching gifts to be approved for BluesCare Giving, the nonprofit organization
must certify that it does not exclude individuals or groups from
agency services, or volunteer participation on the basis of race,
gender, religion, national origin, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, age,
physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identification.
More than $7 million has been distributed to nonprofits in Iowa and South
Dakota through BluesCare Giving since 2011. Just as important to the
nonprofits is the volunteer time provided by Wellmark employees valued at
$20.93 per hour for Iowa and $19.04 for South Dakota by Independent Sector.