Donor Spotlight: Carolann Strickling –Organization Ink – A Culture of Caring
Once each month, Carolann Strickling heads to the BJ’s store and loads up on food and other items for clients of CHP Family Services. For the past two years, her business — Organization Ink — has also “adopted” a family during the Thanksgiving and holiday season, to make sure the families have a festive holiday. Her business makes a regular monthly financial gift to CHP through a program she offers her employees at their 6-month anniversary. Employees may designate a charity to receive a monthly contribution from Organization Ink, on their behalf.
Organization Ink provides payroll, accounting and HR services to small businesses, with offices in Great Barrington and Greenfield. The company is built around a culture of community, with its focus on small businesses, pro bono work for start-up businesses and the routine of giving to local non-profits.
Carolann’s original goal was to donate 3 percent of the company’s annual net profits to charity, but that number has grown and is now between 10-15 percent annually. Several local non-profits receive the company’s gifts, but CHP Family Services has become a key beneficiary for our work with families and children.
“Many of my staff have children, and at one time or another some have been single parents who benefited from community assistance,” said Carolann. “Each of them shares that desire to give back. And you don’t get into the door at my business as an employee if you don’t share that community spirit. We encourage volunteer time or monetary contributions.”
A resident of Sheffield who grew up in New York, Carolann knows of family challenges: when she and her five siblings were growing up in New York, trouble struck at home.
She said, “When my father got sick and couldn’t work, my family had help from a local church. That experience instilled in me the importance of giving back when you can.”
It is clear her staff shares that belief. Organization Ink and CHP Family Services celebrate this partnership and look forward to growing it together.