The minds behind Vera Bradley describe their bold move into corporate philanthropy.

When Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Pat Miller (above) set out to launch their brand of handbags, clothing and accessories in 1982, they turned to an old friend, Mary Sloan, for advice. The enthusiastic Sloan became the company’s first salesperson. But while the company, Vera Bradley, thrived as an entrepreneurial success story, Sloan wasn’t there to celebrate the victory: She succumbed to breast cancer in 1993.

For the driven entrepreneurs, it was a wake-up call. “Mary’s loss left us feeling that we wanted to make a real difference—to stop breast cancer before it could start, through early detection and someday a cure,” they explain. And although the company contributes to more than 100 charities in its home base of Fort Wayne, Ind., and beyond, the pair knew that their new goal would require more focused effort. So in 1998, they started the Vera Bradley Foundation, an enterprise easily on par with their company’s launch 16 years before.

The foundation has raised nearly $8 million for breast cancer research, established the Vera Bradley Center for Breast Cancer Research Laboratories at the Indiana University School of Medicine and endowed a chair in oncology at the same institution.

BUILDING CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY
The Vera Bradley story is the union of entrepreneurial drive and heartfelt philanthropy. “Strategy is just as important in giving as it is in business,” says Margie Flynn, founding partner of Brown Flynn Communications, a Cleveland-based consultancy focusing on corporate responsibility and sustainability. “Strategic philanthropy simply means giving with a purpose.”

Flynn cites the work of Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, cofounders of the Center for Effective Philanthropy in Boston and frequent contributors to the Harvard Business Review. “They define three levels of corporate philanthropy,” she explains. “The first is communal obligation: being a good citizen by supporting worthy causes. The second is cause-related marketing, which builds goodwill in the community. The third is enhancing a company’s strategic advantage through philanthropy. That is Brown Flynn’s expertise.”

Central to such a strategy is aligning philanthropy with business goals to broaden the impact of your mission statement. Vera Bradley exemplifies this union of purpose and action. “The company’s mission is to be a girl’s best friend,” says Catherine Hill, Development Director, Vera Bradley Foundation. “What better way to be someone’s best friend than to be there for her when she needs it most?”

MAKING IT HAPPEN
Flynn suggests that building a sense of shared purpose among staff, customers and community is the next logical step beyond simply writing checks. This, too, is central to the Vera Bradley Foundation, which is structured to encourage volunteerism and outside contributions. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3), it is independent of Vera Bradley Designs, Inc., although the company pays foundation salaries, thus reducing overhead. Funding comes from the annual Vera Bradley Golf and Tennis Classic, as well as other events around the country.

“You have to start with a passion for the cause,” says Miller, “and then spread that through words and action. The employees feel it, volunteers feel it. They embrace it as their own. It’s a relationship over time with people we’ve come to know and love.”